The Unwanted Acquaintances
by Charmeleon
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If you happen to like Damien, then stay away from this fic. Look at Chapter 1 for the summary.
1. An Old Nuisance Returns

I kept thinking what if Ash confronted Damien again. It got to the point that I decided to write this fic. This fic takes place in the Hoenn region. Charizard is back with Ash. Ash battled May and Max's father Norman again. But he won this time. Even though Damien is someone who Ash and Brock hoped to never run into, there is something far worse coming their way. Read along as Ash and friends have to keep their guard up from not one, but two foes.  
( ) after Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts  
  
Chapter 1: An Old Nuisance Returns  
  
It was a cool but dry day in Petalburg City. Ash, Brock and their new friends May and Max had returned so Ash could have an official match against May and Max's father. It was a tough battle, but the teamwork of Pikachu and Charizard was more than Norman's Pelipper and Slaking could handle. Ash had traded his Zigzagoon for Charizard before the battle. Everyone was currently resting at Norman's house.  
"That was an impressive battle Ash. You've gotten a lot better since we first met," Norman said.  
"Thanks Norman," Ash said.  
"The way that Pikachu and Charizard battled was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen so far," Max said.  
"It wasn't always like that though Max," Ash said.  
"What do you mean?" May asked.  
"Charizard used to be a very rebellious Pokemon. We don't know what happened actually. When he was a Charmander, he was very loyal to Ash. But things changed when he became Charmeleon and continued to get worse when Charmeleon became Charizard. I guess that Charmeleon had a misperception of Ash that only got worse after it became Charizard. But a life-threatening situation changed the way it viewed Ash forever," Brock responded.  
"Could you tell us about it?" Norman asked.  
"It would be better if Ash told you about it," Brock responded.  
"Okay Brock. This incident happened when a couple of my other friends, Misty and Tracey journeyed with me through the Orange Islands. We were on our way to the next gym when a boy in a boat named Tad pulled alongside us and asked me to battle him. We made port on a deserted island and had our battle. He used Poliwrath so I decided to use Pikachu.  
His Poliwrath was very good. It used Double Team to tire Pikachu out to where electricity wouldn't be much of a factor anymore. Pikachu was defeated, and I made a risky move and let Charizard out. He didn't listen to me and even tripped me when I tried to reason with him. But then disaster struck. He barely got his tail out of the path of a Water Gun. But then Poliwrath used Ice Beam to freeze Charizard.  
The ice around Charizard did thaw, but the problem was far from over. Charizard's core temperature had dropped to the point where the flame on his tail threatened to go out. And as you may have heard, Charizard die if their tail flame goes out. I was determined not to lose Charizard, and my friends and I worked all night trying to warm him up, but my friends got very tired and went to sleep. I stayed up as long as my body allowed me and fell asleep when I couldn't stay awake any longer.  
The work paid off though because Charizard was100% better the next morning. But we didn't get to celebrate for long because Team Rocket interrupted, and Pikachu fell into an electricity resistant part of their drill machine. They fled, but I went after them. Charizard flew along beside me and signaled me to get on his back.  
I did, and he flew into the hole that Team Rocket made. Charizard freed Pikachu by stomping the drill part of the machine. But Team Rocket tried to literally cut us down. That was when Charizard learned Dragon Rage, and he defeated Team Rocket with it," Ash said.  
"Whoa, that was quite an experience," Max said.  
"I know. I will never forget how close I came to losing Charizard," Ash said.  
"It seems to me that Charizard realized how much you cared for him," Norman said.  
"Pika (Yes)," Pikachu said nodding.  
Ash and friends stayed in Petalburg for a week before heading out on the road again. Ash and Brock didn't know that they would confront an old nuisance. For at this moment, somebody was coming towards them. This person saw the group heading his way and stopped. As the group got closer, he recognized three of them.  
'Well, this is the day for surprises,' the figure thought.  
Ash saw the figure up ahead. "Hey, who's that?" he asked.  
"I don't know," Brock responded.  
When the group was face to face with the figure, Ash, Brock and Pikachu gasped. But the gasps soon turned to irritated looks. They hoped to never see this boy again.  
"Well, if it isn't the one who took my Charmander from me," the voice said.  
"Damien," Ash spat in a disgusted tone.  
"What are you doing here?" Brock asked in the same tone as Ash.  
"Uh, pardon my intrusion. But who exactly is this guy?" May asked.  
"This is Damien," Ash responded in a disgusted tone. "I didn't take your Charmander away from you. He decided that he didn't want to be with you anymore," he added.  
"What do you mean Ash?" Max asked.  
"Damien left his Charmander all alone on a rock in the forest, promising to return for it. It believed him and waited. Misty, Ash and I were in the Pokemon Center hoping that Charmander was picked up. But then we heard Damien say how weak it was and that he had no remorse for leaving it out there. The bad thing was that a storm raged. We got out ot the spot to find a bunch of Spearow harassing the Charmander.  
Pikachu electrocuted the Spearow, but he untintentionally zapped us as well since the electricity hit our wet raingear. We got Charmander back to the Pokemon Center where it made a full recovery. But it wanted to return to the rock to wait for Damien. We tried to tell it about Damien's intentions, but it just continued to the spot where it waited. Team Rocket was up to no good again, and we fell into a hole. Pikachu had been taken, but Charmander came to our rescue.  
Damien saw what happened and tried to win Charmander back over. But we got Damien to tell it his true motive. When Damien threw the Poke Ball to return Charmander, Charmander hit it back in Damien's face. Damien got mad and threatened to pit all his Pokemon against Charmander, but Charmander flamed him, and Pikachu helped out too. Damien then ran off, crying for his mother," Brock responded.  
"Charmander decided to be my Pokemon. I've treated him better than you have," Ash said.  
"How could you train something that weak?" Damien asked.  
"Two things Damien. One, Charmander wasn't weak. You didn't take the time to train him," Brock started.  
"Two, he's no longer a Charmander," Ash finished.  
"How could you make that weak Charmander evolve? Let me see it now," Damien demanded.  
"Suit yourself," Ash said shrugging. He grabbed the ball off his belt. "Come on out!" he said as he threw the ball.  
The ball opened to reveal Charizard. He first saw Ash and smiled. Then he turned around. When he saw Damien, he delivered a Flamethrower right to Damien's face. But this wasn't a kiss like it would be for Ash because Charizard looked far from happy when he fired his Flamethrower at Damien. Ash noticed the look on Charizard's face and knew that it wasn't happy to see Damien. Ash, Max, May, Brock, Pikachu and Charizard all laughed at Damien's completely blackened face.  
"What was that for?" Damien asked.  
"After all this time, Charizard still doesn't like you," Ash responded.  
It took a few minutes for what Ash said to sink in. Damien's eyes grew wide in realization.  
"You mean that that's my Charmander?" Damien asked.  
"Correction, that was your Charmander. Charizard is happy being with me, and we are good friends," Ash responded as Charizard walked next to him in agreement.  
"So leave and don't cause any problems," Brock said.  
Pikachu's cheeks began to spark, and Charizard prepared to send another Flamethrower Damien's way. Damien took the hint and left. But he would be back. Even now, he was scheming on how to win Charizard back over.  
'I won't be too far away. I'll get Charizard to be my Pokemon again,' Damien thought.  
Charizard saw the look on Damien's face before leaving. He knew that he would have to be on his guard. ('I still remember how Damien thinks. He'll try to win me over to him, or trick me into thinking the wrong thing about Ash. I also can't rule that he might try to force me to be his again') he thought. He hoped that he would never have to see Damien again. ('I'll never leave Ash again')  
"That guy is nothing but a big jerk," May said.  
"That goes double for me," Max said.  
"Triple for us," Ash and Brock said as Pikachu and Charizard nodded.  
"Just even thinking about what he did sickens me," Max said.  
"Yeah, but Damien will be back. He'll try to get Charizard to his Pokemon again, even though Charizard clearly showed that he didn't want to return to Damien," Ash said.  
The others nodded. They knew that they would have to be on their guard. Meanwhile, Damien went straight to the Petalburg City Pokemon Center. He took out all his Pokemon and looked for the one that he could use against Charizard if necessary. Most of his Pokemon wouldn't really be a match for Charizard.  
'Maybe I should've taken the time to train them. All my Pokemon that have type advantage against Charizard probably wouldn't stand a chance because they truly are weak. My strongest Pokemon are grass, bug and steel type,' Damien thought. 'I know what I'll do. I'll have my strongest Pokemon take out Ash.'  
Meanwhile, Ash and his friends relaxed in the Petalburg Woods. They had all let their Pokemon out. There was a lake nearby, so it was natural that Marshtomp wanted to go swimming. Grovyle, Swellow, Pikachu and Lombre joined Marshtomp. The others just smiled as they watched the Pokemon in the water.  
"I don't know about you, but I'm joining them," May said. She always had her bathing suit under her clothes because she always anticipated a chance to go swimming. She removed her clothes and jumped into the lake.  
"Pikapi pika (Ash come on in)," Pikachu said, pointing to the water.  
"Okay Pikachu. Here I come," Ash said. Like May, he also had his swimsuit under his clothes and removed them. He then jumped into the lake.  
Brock and Max didn't want to be left out and took off their clothes to reveal their swim suits as well. "Wait for us," the said before jumping in too.  
Lombre and Marshtomp ganged up on Brock and started splashing him. Pikachu, and Grovyle ganged up on Ash and May, and Swellow ganged up on Max. Everyone laughed and had a good time splashing each other. Charizard, Torchic and Beautifly laughed as well at seeing everyone getting soaked.  
Suddenly, the group got blasted out of the water. They had unintentionally invaded a Gyrados's territory. The Gyrados swam closer to the group and gave off another Hyper Beam. But unlike the last one that exploded right in front of them, this one was aimed directly at them.  
"Quick Charizard, use your Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.  
Charizard quickly countered the Hyper Beam with his Flamethrower. The cancelled out attacks caused a big explosion. As the smoke cleared, Gyrados grabbed Ash with its tail. When the smoke cleared completely, the others could see Ash in Gyrados's tail. The Pokemon knew that they would have to be careful. Gyrados would most likely used Ash as a human shield. Ash knew it as well.  
"We got to do something guys," Max said.  
"We will," Brock said.  
Meanwhile, Ash's Pokemon had huddled together and secretly formed a plan. They quietly told the other Pokemon. The others nodded, and they prepared to put the plan in action. Charizard, Beautifly and Swellow flew into the air, surrounding the Gyrados. However, they didn't rule out that this Gyrados knew the move Twister.  
The Gyrado did know Twister and used it to form a water field around it and Ash. This was a large cyclonic water field, suggesting that the Gyrados had used it quite often. Marshtomp and Grovyle had jumped into the water and swam to the water field. Marshtomp dove underwater and into the Twister attack. When at Gyrados's eye level, it delivered a Mud Shot attack.  
"Marsh mar marshtomp (Take that you big bully)," Marshtomp said.  
Gyrados roared in pain because the mud badly stung its eyes. The Twister attack began to dwindle until it was completely gone. Marshtomp had managed to get out of the Twister. But it was a really bad idea to blind the Gyrados because it unknowingly turned to Ash and prepared to fire another Hyper Beam. Grovyle and Lombre quickly delivered a Razor Leaf. The barrage of leaves went straight for Gyrados's tail.  
Gyrados roared in pain again and flung Ash high into the air before shooting the Hyper Beam. Because of Grovyle and Lombre's quick thinking, the Hyper Beam completely missed Ash. Charizard was right where Gyrados threw Ash. In other words, Gyrados threw Ash right into Charizard's waiting arms.  
Marshtomp and Grovyle had then gotten out of the water. Pikachu then gave Gyrados a Thunder attack, using the water to supercharge the attack. The Gyrados swam away with the little strength it had left after that devastating attack. Charizard, Beautifly and Swellow landed next to Brock, Max and May. Then Charizard put Ash down.  
"That was a close one," Max said.  
"I know. Thanks Grovyle, Lombre. Your quick thinking helped Charizard and me out," Ash said as Charizard nodded in agreement.  
"Grovyle (Anytime)," Grovyle said.  
"Lomb, lomb lombre (Yeah, don't mention it)," Lombre added.  
Meanwhile, Damien had seen the incident from behind a nearby tree. He was actually trying to find the group when he heard an explosion. He followed it and saw the Gyrados. Even though Damien wanted Ash out of the way, not even he[Damien] wanted it to be by a Gyrados.  
'We'll meet again Ash. I swear it,' Damien thought.  
Meanwhile, a really unwanted acquaintance was getting closer to where Ash and friends were. This unwanted acquaintance was a Pokemon. It flew through the air, following Ash's scent. Since its defeat at the fossil area in the Kanto region, it has waited for the chance to find Ash for its dinner. It finally got the chance a year ago. The rocks that covered the large hole Team Rocket made had caved in, creating a new hole. The hole was big enough for this Pokemon to fly out of. It then began its search for Ash. It finally caught his scent as it came to the Hoenn region. The scent got stronger and was headed in the direction of the Petalburg Woods. Soon, Ash and his friends would encounter the worst acquaintance of all.  
  
Here's the end of chapter 1. So, how was it? As far as the second foe, I hope that it didn't take you long to figure out that I'm talking about Aerodactyl. Preview for Chapter 2: Aerodactyl Returns: Ash's life now becomes a nightmare as he finds himself a victim of Aerodactyl again. It is known that Jigglypuff played a big part in not letting Aerodactyl get away the first time. But Jigglypuff isn't around, so it's up to Charizard to save Ash from Aerodactyl. Can Charizard save his trainer and friend? You'll have to find out. 


	2. Aerodactyl Returns

Recap: Ash, Brock, May, Max and Pikachu were staying with May and Max's father Norman after a tough Pokemon Gym Battle. It was there that a little bit of the past was told about how Ash and Charizard used to be, key word being used. Then as they went through the Petalburg Woods, Ash, Brock and Pikachu ran into the one person they hoped to never see again, Damien. Damien and Charizard had a little reunion, but it was everything but happy. After Damien left, Ash and friends decided to take a break in a nearby lake. But they had unintentionally invaded a Gyrados's territory, and Gyrados held Ash hostage. But a brilliant plan by the Pokemon freed Ash from the Gyrados.  
( ) followed by Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts  
  
Chapter 2: Aerodactyl Returns  
  
Night had fallen only an hour ago in the Petalburg Woods. Ash and friends had left the lake. After the experience they had with Gyrados, Marshtomp would check the area from now on so they wouldn't have any more problems like with Gyrados. But there was big trouble coming from the air. Aerodactyl wasn't that far away now, and Ash and friends would tango with it very soon.  
Aerodactyl had reached the Petalburg Woods before nightfall. It decided to rest awhile because it was tired after flying for 5 straight hours. It had taken breaks when it got tired, but was airborne again after being well rested. ('Beward boy because I'm back. That hotheaded fire Pokemon won't save you this time') it thought.  
Ash and friends had a good night's sleep. It was a good thing because big trouble was only minutes away. Brock made breakfast, and the humans and Pokemon ate. Half an hour later, Swellow wanted to go flying. Beautifly also wanted to go flying. Ash and May just had to look into their Pokemons' eyes to know what they wanted.  
"Sure guys. You can go. Just be careful," Ash said.  
"Swell (Thanks)," Swellow said.  
"Beau fly (We'll be careful)," Beautifly added. Then he and Swellow spread their wings and took to the air.  
They had no idea of the approaching danger. They were high over the Petalburg Woods. They didn't get to fly for fun that often with Team Rocket constantly at their backs. When they did fly, it was mostly to help out with finding someone. But they didn't mind at all. They enjoyed every chance at flying that they could get. Half an hour later, Swellow saw something coming toward them. The something was still a little ways off, but Swellow's eyes were sharper than Beautifly's were. Beautifly was able to make out the figure a few moments later. They had no idea what it was.  
"Beau fly beautifly (What in the world is that)?" Beautifly asked.  
"Swell swellow (You got me)," Swellow responded.  
As Aerodactyl got closer, it saw two Pokemon flying in the air in front of it. ('Looks like I'll have my meal after all') it thought. It sped towards the two unsuspecting Pokemon.  
"Swellow swell (Let's get out of here)," Swellow said.  
"Beautifly (I'm with you)," Beautifly said as he and Swellow flew back for where the others had made camp.  
"Swell low swellow. Swellow swell (Get on my back. I'm faster than you)," Swellow said.  
Beautifly complied, and Swellow used Agility to leave Aerodactyl in the dust. But it wasn't that simple this time. Aerodactyl had a strong sense of smell and picked up Swellow's scent even though Swellow flew very fast. All that was left now was for Aerodactyl to follow the scent. Meanwhile, Swellow and Beautifly had made it back to camp.  
"Back so soon?" May asked.  
Ash saw a look of terror on Beautifly's face. "Something is wrong you guys. Beautifly's very spooked about something," he said.  
May looked closer. "Hey you're right. I wonder what spooked him so bad," she said.  
"Swell low swellow (We saw a strange Pokemon)," Swellow started.  
"Beau fly beau fly. Beautifly fly beau fly beau (It looked like a weired flying bird. It had sharp teeth and large wings with clawas at the tip of the wings)," Beautifly added.  
Pikachu and Charizard felt their blood run cold on hearing that. They knew that the Pokemon was none other than Aerodactyl. Charizard still blamed himself for what happened. It was mostly his fault that Ash got captured in the first place. If he had helped to fight off the dinosaur Pokemon, Ash would've probably never been captured. He secretly thanked Jigglypuff every time he [Charizard] thought about the experience.  
('I'll never forgive myself if Ash is killed. I almost helped Aerodactyl kill Ash that day. If not for Jigglypuff Ash probably would've been killed. I won't attack unless I can if Aerodactyl manages to capture Ash again') Charizard thought.  
Half an hour later, Ash and friends heard a loud screech. Ash went pale upon hearing it. May, Max and the Pokemon were quite concerned about the terrified look in Ash's eyes.  
"What is it Ash? It's like you know that Pokemon or something," May said.  
"I do know that Pokemon. It's Aerodactyl," Ash said, never loosing the terrified look.  
"What happened Brock?" Max asked.  
"Since Ash is too spooked to tell you this story, I'll tell you. This happened when Ash, Misty and I were traveling through Kanto. We came to a Pokemon fossil area where we found a lot of people trying to dig up fossils. Team Rocket was also there, intending to steal the fossils. They set up dynamite in a specific area. Ash, Pikachu and Squirtle tried to stop them, but the dynamite had successfully exploded. Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket were then trapped underground because the explosion had caused some boulders to fall over the spot of the hole," Brock started.  
"I'll tell them the rest," Ash said.  
"Are you sure you're up to it?" Brock asked.  
"Yes Brock. I'll tell them," Ash responded.  
Charizard excused himself in a hurry. He knew that he would feel guiltier than every if he heard what happened again. He felt really guilty already for what happened as it is. The others except Brock, Ash and Pikachu wondered why Charizard left so fast.  
"Marsh mar (What's with him)?" Marshtomp asked.  
"Why did Charizard leave like that?" May asked.  
"It deals with what happened after Team Rocket, Pikachu and I became trapped underground. Charizard was still just Charmeleon then. Anyway, we didn't get to ponder about where we were for long because four ancient Pokemon confronted us. They were Omanyte, Omastar, Kabuto and Kabutops. Until the dynamite exploded, they were sleeping. But the explosion had awakened them, and they were very angry about it.  
Team Rocket tried to capture the Pokemon without battling first. Kabutops easily deflected the Poke Balls with its scythe-like hands. I then summoned Charmeleon to help, but he just laid on a rock and did nothing. The dinosaura Pokemon then attacked us. We didn't really stand a chance against them. Team Rocket's Arbok and Weezing weren't really much help.  
I told Pikachu to give Kabutops a Thundershock(A/N: Or was it Thunderbolt?). But the Kabuto's weren't affected. Charmeleon wouldn't help us. Kabutops would've killed Pikachu and me if not for hearing Aerodactyl. Kabutops, Omanyte, Omastar and Kabuto fled. Team Rocket and I wondered about that and soon saw Aerodactyl. I looked it up on the Pokedex. The Pokedex said that Aerodactyl was a carnivore. Aerodactyl was about to attack us, but Charmeleon stepped up. But the only reason was that Aerodactyle knocked him off the rock before landing on a higher rock formation.  
Aerodactyl knocked Charmeleon out on the the first swoop. But then Aerodactyl captured me. Pikachu and Charmeleon grabbed onto Aerodactyl's tail. Meanwhile, Misty and Brock had gotten help, and they dug through enough of the rock to create a hole. Aerodactyl flew through that hole, and Pikachu and Charmeleon dropped down.  
Aerodactyl landed on another large rock formation. Jigglypuff was at the fossil area. This Jigglypuff loved to sing and always sung when it got the chance to. Anyway, Charmeleon still wanted to battle Aerodactyl. When Aerodactyl taunted Charmeleon, Charmeleon evolved out of anger. Then Charizard gave chase to Aerodactyl, me still in Aerodactyl's grip.  
I thought Charizrad evolved to save me. But when it started firing Flamethrower attacks, one of them hitting me, I knew it was because Charizard wanted to battle Aerodactyl. Misty got Jigglypuff to sing, and everyone began to get drowsy because a Jigglypuff's song puts every living thing to sleep. Charizard put his talons in his ears to block off the song. But he couldn't keep awake for long. Fortunately, Aerodactyl fell asleep and let go of me a few seconds later. Charizard caught me and fell asleep upon landing," Ash responded.  
May, Max and the other Pokemon were stunned upon hearing that story. They really couldn't blame Ash for being so scared. They would've been scared as well if they were in his situation. They knew that they would have to be on their guard. Pikachu went to find Charizard. Pikachu found Charizard half an hour later. Charizard was far enough so he wouldn't hear the story.  
"Pika pi pika pi (You can come back now)," Pikachu said.  
(I still blame myself for what happened) Charizard said.  
"Pika pi pichu pika (We can really use your help right now)," Pikachue said.  
(I'm more than willing to give it) Charizard said as he and Pikachu made their way back.  
They came back to see Grovyle, Lombre, Foretress and Swellow battling Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was pretty agile and avoided every attack that came at it. It then returned attacks of its own. First it knocked Swellow out of the sky with Hidden Power. Then it used Wing Attack on Grovyle, Lombre and Foretress.  
"Marshtomp, use Water Gun," Brock said.  
"Marshtomp (Eat this)!" Marshtomp shouted, firing the Water Gun.   
Aerodactyl easily maneuvered out of the way. It then gave Marshtomp a devastating Hyper Beam. Marshtomp was out cold from the Hyper Beam. Then Aerodactyl fired a Hyper Beam right in front of Ash. The explosion sent him airborne, and Aerodactyl went in for the capture.  
(Oh no you don't!) Charizard roared, flying up to make the interception.  
But Aerodactyl made it to Ash first and gripped him in its talons. Aerodactyl then fired a Hyper Beam at Charizard. Charizard maneuvered out of the way. That gave Aerodactyl time to flee with Ash. But Charizard ws not going to let Aerodactyl get away. With a roar of fierce determination, Charizard flew after Aerodactyl.  
"Wow, Charizard is really determined to save Ash," Max said.  
"Yes he is. He shows a lot of determination as it is, but I've never seen him this determined," Brock agreed.  
('Don't worry Ash. I'm coming and I will get you back') Charizard thought.  
Meanwhile, Aerodactyl had gotten pretty far ahead. While trapped underground and after it was freed again, it practiced on increasing its speed. Something that knew Agility could still leave Aerodactyl behind as Swellow showed. But Aerodactyl learned to track a fast Pokemon by its scent. While heading for the Petalburg Woods, it had come across many Pokemon who knew Agility. Learning how to smell the Pokemon's trail was a big advantage for Aerodactyl, and a huge disadvantage for its prey.  
But Aerodactyl didn't count on Charizard also having a good sense of smell. Charizard followed Aerodactyl's trail as fast as he could. He was still a good ways behind because Aerodactyl got a head start. He wasn't going to give up though. He held the reputation of never giving up unless he won or fainted, and he definitely wasn't going to give up here.  
('I'll get you Aerodactyl. You won't have Ash today or any day') Charizard thought.  
Aerodactyl knew that Charizard was trailing it even though there was quite a bit of distance between them. It was the same thing last time. But something was different this time. Charizard didn't have the intention of fighting, but something else. Aerodactyl thought back to the roar. It had never heard such determination in its life. Then it how Charizard's first intention was to get Ash before it did after throwing that Hyper Beam in front of Ash. Aerodactyl then made the connection.  
('So, that's the hotheaded Pokemon's intention. He wants to save this boy. Well he won't do it. I'll make sure of it') Aerodactyl thought.  
Meanwhile, Charizard was slowly closing in on Aerodactyl. He really thanked his training in Charicific Valley now because he would've been really tired after flying as fast as he could for two hours. He didn't even feel tired yet. He continued through the air. The longer he was still in the air, the more determined he was to save his friend from Aerodactyl.  
'I hope Charizard can find me,' Ash thought. He heard Charizard's roar loud and clear as well. 'I've been around him quite a bit, but that's the strongest determination I've ever felt from him.'  
Another hour later, Charizard still wasn't gaining too much ground on Aerodactyl. He noticed that he was now over Dewford Island. While back at Pallet Town, Professor Oak shoed him the map of the locations from Littleroot Town to Ever Grande City. Charizard knew that this was where he could make his move.  
('You won't have you lead much longer Aerodactyl') Charizard thought. He then went another route. He could hopefully cut Aerodactyl off at Slateport City if not Mauville City.  
Ash saw that he was over Dewford Island. He figured to make a move as soon as Aerodactyl was over the seas a little past Slateport. He knew that Charizard would have no choice but to give up iff Aerodactyl made it to Pacifidlog Town. 'I've got to do something to help Charizard out,' he thought. He then began struggling to get out of Aerodactyl's grip.  
Aerodactyl tried to keep its grip on Ash. But the more Ash struggled, the more Aerodactyl lost its grip. Soon, it completely lost its grip, and Ash fell into the water below, loosing consciousness on impact. He and his friends had seen the group of Sharpedo that they made friends with. The Sharpedo had taken residence here. Fortunately, one of them saw Ash hit the water.  
"Shar (Ash)!" the leader Sharpedo screamed. He swam down and grabbed Ash. He quickly surfaced.  
Ash coughed up water the moment his head was out of the water. He opened his eyes to see a familiar Sharpedo looking down at him. "Thanks Sharpedo," he said.  
"Sharpedo (You're welcome)," Sharpedo said.  
The reunion didn't last because Aerodactyl returned to re-capture its prey. The rest of the Sharpedo then surfaced, ready to protect Ash.  
"Sharpedo, I need you to hold off Aerodactyl until my friend Charizard comes. Aerodactyl had gotten a head start on him, and a delay will help," Ash said.  
The group of Sharpedo fired their Hydro Pump attacks at Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl barely got out of the way of this water attack. Hydro Pump is one of the fastest water attacks. The Sharpedo then tried the same thing again. But Aerdactyl was ready this time and easily dodged this time. Then Aerodactyl launched a surprise attack.  
Aerodactyl had learned Supersonic. The Sharpedo were confused and began attacking each other. In the Sharpedos' confusion, Aerodactyl captured Ash again. Then it gave the group of Sharpedo a Hyper Beam before leaving. Aerodactyl didn't know that Charizard had made it to Slateport. Charizard heard the explosion and waited off the coast.  
Aerodactyl flew back over Slateport. It then got a big surprise. Charizard flew right in front of it. Ash was very relieved to see that the Sharpedo did hold off Aerodactyl long enough. Aerodactyl fired a Hyper Beam. But Charizard countered the Hyper Beam with Flamethrower this time.  
(That won't work this time you freak) Charizard said.  
Aerodactyl screeched in anger at being called a freak. It then charged at Charizard. Charizard pulled up at the last minute and tail whacked Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was sent off balance but quickly regained its composure. Charizard knew that he had to get Ash out of Aerodactyl's grip.  
Aerodactyl's grip on Ash had tightened, restricting Ash's air supply. He wouldn't be able to breathe if Aerodactyl's grip tightened any more. Unfortunately, that's what happened when Aerodactyl attempted to use Take Down. Charizard evaded the attack again, and Aerodactyl unknowingly tightened its grip on Ash again.  
Charizard could see that Ash had much difficulty breathing. ('I've got to get Ash out of Aerodactyl's grip. It must have tightened its grip on him too much') he thought. He saw his chance to attack and aimed a Flamethrower at Aerodactyl's legs.  
Aerodactyl screamed in pain and let go of Ash. Charizard dove and flew under Ash. Ash fell on Charizard's back. He felt the pressure on his throat diminish. Charizard flew up and hovered in front of Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was getting pretty tired and decided to let Ash go for now. But it would be back, most definitely.  
Charizard also started to feel tired. He landed, and Ash got off his back. Ash knew that Charizard would begin to feel tired. They walked over to the Pokemon Center. Ash returned Charizard to its Poke Ball before giving it to Nurse Joy. Ash spent the rest of the day and all night in the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy then returned Charizard's Poke Ball, and Ash let Charizard out.  
"Thanks Charizard," Ash said, hugging Charizard.  
Charizard hugged back. (Anytime) he said. He and Ash then walked out of the Center.  
Ash got on Charizard's back. Charizard then flew for the long flight back to the Petalburg Woods. In the Petalburg Woods, Brock and the others were very worried about Ash and Charizard. It had been a full day since Aerodactyl captured Ash. Brock and the others would soon find out that Ash was safe.  
"I'm worried about them," Brock said.  
"Yeah Brock, it's been a full day. Who knows what happened to them by now?" Max added.  
It took most of the day for Charizard to fly back to the Petalburg Woods. In fact, it was late afternoon when he returned. The others were very relieved to see him land. They were even more relieved seeing Ash on Charizard's back. Ash then dismounted Charizard.   
"Are you all right Ash?" Brock asked.  
"Yes I am Brock, and I owe it to Charizard and the group of Sharpedo we befriended," Ash responded. He then told them the long story. "Take a rest Charizard. You really deserve it," He said before returning Charizard to its Poke Ball.  
Charizard was returned. He really could use the rest after flying who knows how many miles. ('Aerodactyl is a lot more determined to have Ash for its dinner. But I'm a lot more determined to keep Ash safe from Aerodactyl. I'm the best chance Ash has against Aerodactyl now') he thought. Whenever Aerodactyl tried to capture Ash, Charizard would be there to help from now on.  
  
Well, here's the end of chapter 2. I intend to go back and forth with Damien and Aerodactyl for this story. In other words, the next chapter will have Damien in it. I haven't bashed any characters yet, but I will bash Damien since I really don't like him. So again, don't read if you like Damien. To those who don't like Damien either, if you have any ideas on how to bash him, send them my way in a review. I could really use some help as far as bashing. Moving on, preview for Chapter 3: Sneak Attack: Ash and friends come across Mr. Briney again and sail for Slateport on the way to Fortree City to challenge Winona. But Damien stows away on the boat and quietly follows them. He plans to take Ash out of the picture. Will the others be able to stop him? 


	3. Sneak Attack

Recap: Ash and his friends had just about recovered from after a Gyrados attacked them. But things would go downhill from there. Swellow and Beautifly crossed paths with Aerodactyl while on a flight and got away thanks to Swellow's speed. But that wasn't the end of the confrontation with Aerodactyl because it found where Ash and the others were and captured Ash again. Determined to save Ash, Charizard went after Aerodactyl. Charizard finally caught up to Aerodactyl at Slateport before driving it away. After spending the night in the Pokemon Center, Ash and Charizard made it back to the others late the next afternoon.  
( ) following Pokemon language is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts

Chapter 3: Sneak Attack

Things were calm for the time being. Ash was currently sitting with his back against a tree. Pikachu jumped into his lap, and Grovyle sat next to him on the right. Swellow perched itself on Ash's left shoulder. Pikachu, Grovyle and Swellow were the most relieved that Charizard found and saved Ash.

"I'm just glad that you're back safe," Max said. "That must have been a horrifying experience."

"Believe me Max, it was. It was even worse than the first experience I had with Aerodactyl. I owe Charizard my life," Ash said.

The rest of the day was very peaceful. After all that happened, it was something that Ash and his friends were very appreciative for. At around sunset, everyone had gathered around the tree for dinner. Ash had let Charizard out, and Charizard sat next to Ash on the left side. Everyone finished dinner half an hour later. Then Ash, May, Max and Brock set up their sleeping bags.

"Maybe your Pokemon should sleep around you Ash," Brock said.

"Yeah. That creep Damien might try something and you also have Aerodactyl to worry about," May agreed.

"Grovyle gro(I'm all for it)," Grovyle said.

"Pikachu(So am I)," Pikachu agreed.

(Definitely count me in) Charizard added.

"Swellow(Me too)," Swellow said.

Ash nodded before he got into his sleeping bag. Charizard and Grovyle say either side of him; each put an arm around him. Charizard made sure that his tail was away from Ash and Grovyle so he wouldn't unintentionally burn them. Pikachu and Swellow lay around Ash's head. Then Brock, May and Max got settled in their sleeping bags before everyone went to sleep for the night.

It was a very peaceful night as well. The next morning, Brock fixed everyone breakfast. Half an hour after finishing, they all got ready to hit the road again. They would've hit the road yesterday if not for Aerodactyl's interference. Ash had returned Swellow. Charizard and Grovyle had insisted that they remain out. Brock and May returned all their Pokemon. Then they all headed out of the Petalburg Woods. Fortunately, they weren't too far into the woods. They were able to make it to Mr. Briney's house in a few hours. Mr. Briney was very happy to be able to see them again.

"How good it is to see you again," Mr. Briney said.

"It's good to see you too Mr. Briney. You too Peeko," May said.

"Wingull wing(Glad to see you too)!" Peeko said happily.

"So, how have you been doing with your gym battles Laddie?" Mr. Briney asked.

"My Pokemon and I have been doing just fine. Norman was a very tough gym leader, but we were able to defeat him. I have five badges now," Ash said.

"Aye, he's one pretty tough gym leader. Not too many have been able to defeat him," Mr. Briney said.

"We're on our way to Foretree City now," May said.

"Well then, I'm more than happy to help you on your way. I can take ye to Slateport City. Then you can go from there," Mr. Briney said.

"Thanks sir," Ash said.

"It is no problem Matey," Mr. Briney said. Then he led Ash and friends to his boat hangar. He then brought his boat to the surface.

After the boat no longer had water running out of it, everyone got aboard. Then Mr. Briney started the boat, and they were on their way to Slateport City. An hour into the trip, Charizard gently took Ash's hand. Ash looked at Charizard, wondering what it wanted. Then Charizard looked at his back.

"You want me to ride you?" Ash asked.

Charizard nodded. Ash got on Charizard's back. Then Charizard spread his wings and was into the air with a few flaps of them. Charizard flew high, but not too high because he didn't want to lose sight of Mr. Briney's boat. Half an hour later, Charizard decided to have fun while flying. Charizard dove and pulled into a loop. The dive caught Ash off guard, but he ended up enjoying the stunt.

"Come on Charizard. Let's have some fun," Ash said.

That was really music to Charizard's ears as he pulled off multiple loops. Then he did a vertical spiral through the air. Ash and Charizard were laughing the entire time. Brock and the others were just watching from the boat. They smiled at Ash and Charizard having fun together.

"They deserve to have fun," May said.

"Yeah," Brock agreed.

"Pika pika(You said it)," Pikachu added.

Charizard landed back on the boat a couple of hours later. Ash dismounted and stood next to his orange friend.

"That was great Charizard. Hopefully we'll be able to do that again. Pikachu, you'll be with me the next time," Ash said.

"Pika pi pika(I can hardly wait)," Pikachu said.

It was quiet for the rest of the day. Everyone had just enjoyed looking at the horizon as the boat continued to glide across the water. They had reached Dewford Island by nightfall. Brawly was just out for a nightly stroll when he saw them.

"This is a very pleasant surprise. I was hoping to see you guys again," Brawly said.

"Hey Brawly, how have you been?" Ash asked.

"Things have been going good. It's the usual facing trainerse who want a badge. I can't complain though, It gives my Pokemon more experience," Brawly responded.

"So, how is your Hariyama?" Brock asked.

"Hariyama is fine," Brawly responded. He then took the ball that contained the said Pokemon. "Come on out Hariyama!" he said, throwing the ball, revealing Hariyama.

"Hariyama(Greetings)," Hariyama said.

"Grovyle(Hi there)," Grovyle said.

"Hariyama hari(Who are you)?" Hariyama asked confused.

"Grovyle gro vyle. Gro grovyle(I evolved from Treecko. I'm a Grovyle now)," Grovyle said.

"Hari, hariyama(Oh, I see)," Hariyama said.

"I see that your Treecko has evolved Ash," Brawly said. He then noticed Charizard. "Wow, you have a Charizard too. I'm glad that I faced you when I did. I can tell you right now that Hariyama would've probably had a very tough time if he had to go against your Charizard. Your Charizard looks pretty strong."

"Hariyama(He said it)," Hariyama agreed.

Charizard blushed a little after that comment. He was very flattered. The others saw it and laughed a little.

"Yeah. Charizard is my strongest Pokemon," Ash said. Then he let Swellow out.

"Ah so your Taillow evolved too," Brawly said.

"Yeah," Ash said.

"So where are you off too?" Brawly then asked.

"My friends and I are off to Foretree City so I can battle Winona for a badge," Ash responded. "But we'll stop at Slateport City so May can re-enter the Pokemon contest there," he added.

That last comment caught May off guard. She had forgotten that she did indeed lose that contest. She tackled Ash in a big hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," May said happily.

"It's no problem May," Ash said as May got off of him.

"We were wondering if we could spend the night with you," Max said.

"It's going to be a little cramped but I'm sure that things will work out. Follow me," Brawly said before heading towards his house.

Ash and the others followed Brawly. They were at the house a few minutes later. Brawly opened the door, and everybody entered.

"If it's no trouble with any of you, I'll sleep in the living room," Ash offered.

"Are you sure about that? You can sleep in my room, and I can take the living room," Brawly said.

"I'm sure Brawly," Ash said smiling.

Brawly nodded before everyone sat down to a quick dinner. Half an hour afterwards, everyone went off to different rooms to turn in for the night. In the living room, Ash had moved some of the furniture with Charizard and Grovyle's help. Then he got out his sleeping bag and set it on the floor. Pikachu and Swellow had settled down on the vertical opposite ends of the sleeping bag. Then Ash got in his sleeping bag. Charizard and Grovyle had gotten on either side of him again.

"Goodnight guys," Ash said before going to sleep.

The Pokemon had said their goodnights before going to sleep as well. During the night, a sudden storm came over the island. Pikachu screamed when hearing a loud crack of thunder. That woke just about everyone in the house up. Ash unzipped his sleeping bag so he could sit up and saw his frightened little friend.

"Did the storm scare you little buddy?" Ash asked.

Pikachu was about to respond when another crack of thunder shook the house. Pikachu jumped into Ash's lap, holding onto Ash for dear life. Ash knew what to do though. Pikachu didn't mind the lightning due to being an electric Pokemon. It was the thunder that always scared him. Ash gently rubbed Pikachu's back.

"It's okay Pikachu. Thunder is only a loud sound. It can't hurt you," Ash said comfortingly as he continued to run his frightened Pokemon's back.

The others had coming to the living room to see what the problem was. Brock immediately understood when he saw a frightened Pikachu in Ash's lap.

"What's going on?" Max asked.

"Pikachu is afraid of thunder," Brock responded.

"But isn't Thunder one of its attacks?" May asked.

"That's an electrical attack May. This thunder is a very loud sound," Brawly responded.

"You can go back to bed now. I can handle things from here," Ash said.

The others nodded before heading back to the rooms. Ash went back to rubbing Pikachu's back. He soon went back to sleep, still gently rubbing Pikachu's back. Pikachu soon fell asleep under his friend's gentle rubbing. The storm raged on for the rest of the night, but Ash's rubbing helped to keep Pikachu calm. The next morning, everyone awakened to a calm start to the day. The skies were crystal clear, and the sun was shining for all it's worth. Ash woke up and set Pikachu out of the sleeping bag. The movement woke Pikachu up as well.

"Grovyle gro(Are you okay now)?" Grovyle asked.

"Pika(Yeah)," Pikachu responded.

Ash packed up his sleeping bag before Charizard and Grovyle put the furniture back into place. Then Ash and his Pokemon joined the others for breakfast. An hour after breakfast, Ash, his friends and Mr. Briney got on board Mr. Briney's boat. Then Mr. Briney started up the engine, and they were on their way to Slateport City. It took a good part of the day to make it to Slateport. In fact, they didn't make it until late that afternoon.

"Well, good luck with your journey. I hope that our paths cross again," Mr. Briney said.

"Wingull(Goodbye)," Peeko said.

"Bye," Ash, May, Max and Brock said before Mr. Briney set off on the trip back to Petalburg City.

"Let's head to the Pokemon Center. I'm starved," Ash said.

"I am too," Max said.

The group of friends headed to the Pokemon Center. Brock went into flirt mode the moment he spotted Nurse Joy. But thankfully, Max put Brock in check. Then the group of friends enjoyed a nice meal. They were unaware that an unwanted acquaintance was also in the Pokemon Center. Damien had spotted Ash and the others the moment they came in. He made sure that he was where none of them could see him.

'I will have Charizard as my Pokemon again. I can't do anything now because there are a lot of people around,' Damien thought.

Ash and his friends slept in the Pokemon Center for the night. The next day, they headed to the Pokemon Contest so that May could compete again. It was no big surprise to them upon seing the green-haired boy Drew. He had also lost this Pokemon Contest.

"Well, it appears as though you had the guts to come back and compete. But I will beat you just like I did last time," Drew said arrogantly.

"Don't count your eggs before they hatch Drew. I just may very well surprise you," May said.

The contest was mostly deja vu all over again. But unlike last time, May had made it into the semifinals. It was her vs. Drew.

"Let's win this time Roselia!" Drew said as he tossed his Poke Ball.

Roselia came out and twirled around. It gave off a Petal Dance as it twirled. Then it stopped, crossing its rose-like arms in front of its body. "Roselia(I'm ready)," it said.

"Beautifly, I choose you!" May said, releasing Beautifly.

"Beautifly(I'm ready)," Beautifly said as he flew around May's head for a few moments before landing on her shoulders.

"Roselia, start off with Petal Dance!" Drew commanded.

"Roselia rose(Prepare to be beaten)," Roselia said as hundreds of little pink petals came out of it's hands.

"Fly above it Beautifly," May said.

"Beautifly flew above the Petal Dance.

"Now Tackle it," May then said.

"Beautifly(Here I come)!" Beautifly said as it dove towards Roselia.

"Stun Spore Roselia!" Drew countered.

Roselia released an orange powder at Beautifly.

"Use Gust Beautifly!" May countered right back.

"Beautifly(Okay)!" Beautifly said as he flapped his wings quickly.

The Stun Spore ended up completely paralyzing Roselia.

"Wow, such skill!" one of the judges said.

"She has gotten better from the first time," another judge said.

"Now Beautifly use Silver Wind," May said.

Beautifly flapped his wings hard as if performing Gust. But a silver-like substance formed from this wind. The attack headed right for the paralyzed Roselia, knocking it out. Beautifly then landed back on May's shoulders.

"You did very well Beautifly," May said, scratching her Pokemon's head.

"Great job May," Ash and the others said from the sidelines.

May then received her ribbon for winning the contest before she and her friends headed back to the Pokemon Center. An hour later, they were on their way to Foretree City again, unaware that Damien was following them. They were out of Slateport City within an hour. Late in the afternoon, they stopped to rest before continuing on.

'Now that they've stopped, all I have to do is wait for Ash to be alone,' Damien thought. Unfortunately, he didn't have long to wait.

About ten minutes later, Ash wanted to go out for a walk alone. He took the PokeNav with him so he could find his way back. Then he headed out. His Pokemon were very uncomfortable with the idea of Ash being alone since there was no telling if either Damien or Aerodactyl was around.

"Pikachu pi pika pi(We should follow him)," Pikachu said.

(I agree) Charizard said.

Grovyle and Swellow nodded their agreement as well. Pikachu jumped onto Charizard's back before Charizard and Swellow took to the air. Grovyle followed from the trees. They soon caught up to Ash and secretly followed him. Half an hour later, Ash stopped near a lake and took a drink from it.

"Tangela, use Vine Whip!" a voice shouted.

Before Ash could react, two vines wrapped around him. He turned his head and saw a Tangela binding him. He then narrowed his eyes went he saw who was with the Tangela. "So you're back," he snorted. He then screamed in pain when he felt something sharp slice into his back.

The culprit was a Scyther. The Tangela then unwrapped its vines from around Ash, and Ash dropped to the ground. Meanwhile, his Pokemon saw what happened. They all growled in anger. They knew that it was almost time for them to reveal themselves.

"Razor Leaf Tangela!" Damien then said.

Tangela then shot out five razor-sharp leaves at the already wounded trainer. Before the leaves made contact, a stream of fire burned them to a crisp. Charizard landed in front of Ash, and Pikachu jumped off Charizard's back. Scyther attempted to get Ash from behind again, but hundreds of seeds fired machine-gun style stopped it. Then Grovyle revealed himself and stood right behind Ash. A Weepingbell tried to use Stun Spore on the three-revealed Pokemon, but a Gust blew the paralyzing powder away. Then Swellow used Wing Attack on the Weepingbell, fainting it instantly.

"So, the Calvary has come to aid its friend. You'll be too late to help him when I get through with him," Damien said smirking.

"Pika pikachu Pikapi(You won't be doing anything to Ash)," Pikachu said, cheeks sparking.

(Not if we have anything to say about it) Charizard added.

"You won't be able to stop me this time. Come on out everyone!" Damien then said.

Charizard, Pikachu, Grovyle and Swellow watched as two-dozen more Pokemon came out. The Pokemon wasted no time and immediately started attacking. The odds may have been in Damien's favor, but Charizard, Pikachu, Grovyle and Swellow were better trained than most of Damien's Pokemon. Ash's Pokemon took out most of Damien's Pokemon pretty easily.

While Ash's Pokemon were distracted, Tangela and Scyther surrounded Ash. Scyther had one of its sword-like claws just inches away from Ash's throat. Ash's Pokemon fainted the rest of Damien's Pokemon in about ten minutes. They turned to see Scyther's sword-like claw dangerously close to Ash's neck. Damien just stood there smirking.

"One step towards us, and Scyther slashes your friend's throat open," Damien said.

Unknowingly to any of them, Grovyle had secretly gone into the trees. He quietly made his way behind Scyther. Then he jumped towards Scyther.

"Grovyle(No you don't)!" Grovyle shouted, a Leaf Blade at the ready.

Before Scyther or Damien could react, Grovyle hit his mark. Scyther went down; fortunately, Grovyle managed to keep Scyther's blade from cutting Ash. Before anyone could reat, Tangela shot another Razor Leaf at Ash. This time, the Razor Leaf connected. Ash screamed in pain as the sharp leaves sliced into his body. Charizard roared with primal rage. Grovyle screamed with just as much rage as Charizard.

Then, three things happened. The first thing is that Grovyle started to glow in a white aura. Pikachu and Swellow could only look in awe as Grovyle started to evolve. Grovyle started growing. When the glow died down, a new Pokemon about 6' tall now stood in Grovyle's place.

This Pokemon was a pale shade of green with a pink stripe going across its stomach. It had two leaves that were the same color as its body growing out of its forearms, and a ladybug-like back. It's back was ladybug-like because there were large yellow buds growing from it. The Pokemon also had a large tail that looked like a 3-D pine tree branch.

"Sceptile(You'll pay)!" the new Pokemon shouted.

The second thing that happened was that the buds on Sceptile's back began to glow. A few moments later, Sceptile shot a powerful Solarbeam from his mouth. The Solarbeam completely overwhelmed Tangela, easily fainting it. At about the same time that Grovyle evolved, Charizard's tail flame glowed. Charizard then flew into the air before rocketing towards Damien tail first.

Charizard made impact, and Damien went flying into a rock-like wall. Charizard had just used Outrage. Damien's Scyther had regained consciousness at this point as well. Charizard moved to fight it, but Sceptile stopped him.

(Are you sure you want to face it?) Charizard asked.

Sceptile only nodded in response. Then he got ready to battle. Damien had recovered from Charizard's attack.

"Let's take this one out Scyther. Fury Cutter!" Damien said.

"Scyther scy(You're getting cut down)," Scyther said before approaching Sceptile.

Sceptile stopped Scyther with Bullet Seed. Before Damien could give Scyther another command, Sceptile took it out with a double Leaf Blade. Damien returned all his fainted Pokemon and appeared ot be leaving. The truth was that he went around all of Ash's Pokemon and was in front of Ash. Then Damien took a switchblade from out of his pocket and put it next to Ash's throat.

"It looks like I win after all," Damien then said.

Ash's Pokemon turned around and saw Damien with a knife to Ash's throat. Damien smirked.

"I'll let him live if you come with me Charizard. It's your choice," Damien said.

Charizard was at a standstill. ('What do I do? If I don't go with him, he'll kill Ash. But if I do go with him, he'll probably kill Ash anyway as assurance that I stay') he helplessly thought.

The answer to Charizard's mental question came when a black blur snatched the knife out of Damien's hands. The black blur turned out to be none other than Swellow. Just as quickly, something knocked Damien away from Ash. Then Damien screamed as something gave him a rather big shock. The something was Pikachu using Quick Attack followed by Thunderbolt.

"Pikachu pika chu(He's all yours Charizard)," Pikachu said.

Charizard nodded in thanks before charging towards Damien. Charizard first used Take Down, which sent Damien flying again. Then Charizard used Flamethrower before using Ember. The two fiery attacks left Damien looking like a piece of charcoal. Damien took the hint and left as quickly as he could. Swellow watched Damien from above so there would be no more fooling.

Damien had really left this time. Then Swellow joined Charizard, Sceptile and Pikachu, who were already at their wounded trainer/friend's side. Swellow took the knife in its beak and threw it up. Charizard then destroyed the knife with his Flamethrower. Then the buds on Sceptile's back glowed again, but it wasn't going to be a Solarbeam. Sceptile had absorbed nutrients from some of the trees after defeating Damien's Scyther.

Then Sceptile placed his hands on Ash. The nutrients that Sceptile had absorbed from the trees converted to the move Recover. Ash's wounds had started closing. A few moments later, Ash was completely healed. He took Sceptile's offered hand and was pulled up into a sitting position. Ash hugged Sceptile, and Sceptile returned the hug. Pikachu jumped into Ash's lap when Ash and Sceptile parted. Swellow perched itself on Ash's shoulder and started nuzzling him. Then Charizard hugged Ash from behind.

"Thanks Sceptile," Ash said smiling.

"Sceptile(Don't mention it)," Sceptile said.

"Thank you, all of you. I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you," Ash said to the rest of his Pokemon.

"Pikachu pika(You're our best friend)," Pikachu said.

"Swellow swell low(We'll do all we can for you)," Swellow added.

(We will do all in our power to keep you safe) Charizard added.

"We should be heading back. I'm sure that the others are worried about us," Ash said. He then climbed onto Charizard's back before Charizard flew off.

Sceptile followed Charizard from the trees, and Swellow followed from the air with Pikachu on its back. They made it to the others in about ten minutes.

"There you guys are," Brock said.

"What happened?" May asked.

"Damien's Pokemon attacked me. If not for my Pokemon following me, either he or his Pokemon would've killed me," Ash responded.

Then Sceptile came down from the trees. Brock, May and Max looked at him in awe. Still in awe, May took out her Pokedex.

"Sceptile, the wood gecko Pokemon. Sceptile is the evolved form of Grovyle. This Pokemon uses the bulb-like buds on its back to nourish trees. If weakened, a Sceptile will use the buds to take in nutrients from plants and trees to replenish itself. Sometimes, a Sceptile will also use these healing qualities on other people or Pokemon," the female voice of the Pokedex said.

"Amazing, Grovyle evolved," Brock said.

"Not only that, but Sceptile also learned Solarbeam. Charizard also learned a new move. He learned Outrage," Ash said before telling the others everything that happened. "I hoped that I could get some peace to myself. But after what happened today, I know that I won't be able to. Damien will always be lurking close by. He showed that he's willing to do anything to get Charizard back, even if it means my death," he added.

The others nodded. They had peace for the rest of the day. The situation with Damien had just gotten more complicated. If not for Ash's Pokemons' instincts, Ash would've surely lost his life today. From now on, Ash would have at least one Pokemon with him when he wanted to be alone. That way, the Pokemon with him can do whatever is necessary in case the need to protect Ash arises.

Well, here's the end of the third chapter. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't too good, but it's an update nonetheless. Updates are going to be infrequent for all of my stories until I graduate in May. But I will do the best I can to update. Well, here's my first attempt at character bashing. I hope you liked it. Moving right along, preview for Chapter 4: Electrical Trouble: Ash and his friends make it to Mauville City. It is there where they find electical chaos, literally. Something is causing all of Mauville's electricity to go haywire. Can Ash and friends find out what's causing the problem and stop it? You'll have to stay tuned.

Oh, and about Sceptile being able to heal, it's a conditional kind of healing. The condition is that Sceptile has to absorb nutriets from plants and trees to be able to heal. It's something that I've been wondering about since the first time I saw what a Sceptile looked like. So I decided to have Sceptile be able to heal in this story for the condition that I just mentioned.  



	4. Electrical Trouble

Recap: Charizard was recuperating after saving Ash from Aerodactyl. They continued their journey the following day. They had another run in with their good friends Mr. Briney and Peeko the Wingull. Mr. Briney took Ash and friends to Dewford Island where they were reunited with Brawly. They spent the night at Brawly's house before heading to Slateport. While in Slateport, May re-entered the Pokemon Contest and was victorious. What they didn't know was that Damien was also in Slateport. He followed the group of friends as they left the city. When Ash wanted to have some time on his own, Damien took this as an advantage to get rid of Ash. If not for Ash's Pokemon following Ash, Ash would've been killed.  
( ) following Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts

Chapter 4: Electrical Trouble

It was a day of very happy and very terrifying reunions. Ash and friends first reunited with their good friend Mr. Briney. Upon the long journey to Slateport City, they stopped at Dewford Island and reunited with Brawly for the night. The following moring, Ash and friends bid Brawly a goodbye for the second time and continued toward Slateport City. Upon reaching Slateport City, Ash and friends bid Mr. Briney and Peeko the Wingull goodbye before heading to the Pokemon Center.

It was there that a very unwanted presence spotted the unsuspecting group of friends. While in Slateport, May had re-entered the Pokemon contest. This time, she came out on top, defeating her rival Drew. But things went downhill fast when they cleared Slateport. Wanting to have some time alone, Ash went out for a walk. Concerned for his safety, his Pokemon secretly followed.

It proved to the a good thing that his Pokemon followed him. Only half an hour into the walk, Ash found himself under attack. The culprit was none other than Damien. Not too long afterwards, a fierce battle between Damien and Ash's Pokemon rang out. Although greatly outnumbered, Ash's Pokemon prevailed because they were better trained.

Whilst in the battle to save Ash's life, Grovyle evolved into Sceptile, easily defeating Scyther, one of Damien's strongest Pokemon. Damien then attempted a sneaky move, forcing Charizard to choose to either go with him or watch Ash die. But that sneaky move was thwarted when Swellow snatched the knife out of Damien's hand. Then Pikachu and Charizard sent Damien on his not so merry little way. Then Sceptile used his healing qualities to heal his injured trainer.

Currently, everyone was still in the forest of Route 110. Ash was currently asleep in his sleeping bag at the moment. The adrenaline rush that he had in his terrifying experience had worn off, leaving him very exhausted. His Pokemon were at his side, keeping silent vigil over him. They were very relieved that they saved Ash in time. Brock, May and Max were talking amongst themselves. They made sure to keep their voices down so they wouldn't unintentionally wake Ash up.

"What can we do to help Ash? This was the worst attack on him so far," May said, extreme worry and concern in her voice.

"The agreement to have at least one of our Pokemon go with Ash when he wants to be alone is a start. But the best thing is for us to stay together as much as possible. I've traveled with Ash for a long time, and there were quite a few situations where we got separated. Ash handled himself very well in those situations, but this is completely different. Us being separated could mean the difference between life and death for Ash," Brock said.

"I just feel so sorry for Ash. He would've been killed today if it weren't for his Pokemon," Max said.

"Yeah, he was very lucky today," May said.

"Luck has been a big thing as far as Ash is concerned. I haven't been able to figure out why luck seems to always be on his side even to this day," Brock said.

It was indeed luck that Ash made it out of the horrifying confrontation with Damien alive. At about sunset, everyone sat around a campfire and hand dinner. Ash was back into his sleeping bag only half an hour afterwards because he was still very tired. Pikachu and Swellow had gotten into their positions at Ash's head and feet and were soon asleep as well. Not too long afterwards, Sceptile and Charizard got into their positions at Ash's sides before they fell asleep as well. This was a tiring day for all of them.

"Well, should we hit the sack too?" Max asked quietly.

"I think we should. We can all use a really good night's sleep tonight," Brock responded before setting up his sleeping bag.

May and Max then set up and got settled in their sleeping bags before nodding off to dreamland as well. Brock soon joined them. After all that's happened today, they were really looking forward to a peaceful night. Unfortunately, things weren't peaceful for everyone this night.

An electrical crisis was going on in Mauville City. It was a strange occurrence. Things were running smoothly just a few short hours ago. Suddenly, the electricity of the entire city started going crazy. Lights were flickering like crazy, threatening to blow up like bombs. Electrical appliances were literally blowing up, sending unending sparks throughout the city. Also, it was like some of the electrical appliances had minds of their own. People were literally trying to stay out of the rampaging appliances' paths. No one knew why this was happening. That is no one except for Wattson the gym leader.

"Do you know what can be causing this?" one of the junior trainers of the gym asked.

"I don't know exactly what it is. But I do know that whatever is causing this is doing something to our New Mauville power plant. All of our electricity comes from there. It's a good thing that we have back-up generators that run on battery power. It's also good that our batteries are at full power," Wattson responded.

"If that's the case, then it must be a pretty powerful electric Pokemon," the junior trainer said.

"Precisely, this leaves us almost completely helpless. Because we only have electric Pokemon ourselves, we'll have a stalemate at best," Wattson said.

Early the next morning, Ash and his friends had awakened from their slumber. Ash was back to his perky self again, which was a relief to everyone.

"I see that you're feeling better Ash," Brock said.

"Yeah, that rest was what I really needed," Ash said.

Everyone enjoyed a quick breakfast. Then every Pokemon, except for Pikachu of course was recalled. Then Ash and friends continued on their way. Unbeknownst to anyone, a wily Pokemon was nearby. After its loss to Charizard, Aerodactyl was in a very foul mood. It suddenly heard voices and went to investigate. It was pleased with what it found.

('It appears that I have another chance at my prey') Aerodactyl thought as it saw Ash and the others.

Sensing trouble, all of Ash, May and Brock's Pokemon came out of their Poke Balls. Pikachu had jumped off of Ash's shoulder at about the same time, cheeks sparking dangerously. The humans were pretty confused. They had no idea why wall their Pokemon were out right now.

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pika (Big trouble)," Pikachu responded lowly, cheeks still sparking.

Even thought Ash, Brock, May and Max couldn't understand what Pikachu said, they knew that something was wrong by its tone of voice. All of the Pokemon formed a protective circle around Ash. They felt that whatever was out there would be after him. The suspense was getting to everyone. From out of nowhere, a rockslide headed for the circle of Pokemon.

"It's a Rockslide attack," Max said.

"Charizard, use Dragon Rage! Use Solarbeam on those boulders Sceptile!" Ash said. "Pikachu, use Thunder!"

Charizard, Sceptile and Pikachu charged up the said attacks and flung them at the rapidly approaching rockslide. The impact resulted in a huge explosion. Some pretty big boulders came through the explosion completely in tact.

"Foretress, use Explosion on those boulders!" Brock said.

"Foretress(Gotcha)!" Foretress cried. It got in the boulders' path before unleashing a devistating explosion.

When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the rockslide was tiny pebbles. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close call. But it wouldn't be over yet. Aerodactyl then dove straight for Ash with a Wing Attack at the ready. Charizard flew up and used Take Down on Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl was sent flying into a group of trees. Unfortunately, the force of Aerodactyl's impact caused the trees to fall. Ash and friends were directly in the falling trees' path.

"Get out of the way everyone," Brock said as he ran to get out of the trees' path.

Max tripped over a fallen tree branch while trying to escape. Luckily, Ash was right behind him. Ash quickly helped Max up, and they continued running out of the way. But Ash wouldn't be so fortunate the next time. Ash he ran, the branch of one of the falling trees fell on his left leg, effectively pinning him to the ground. He screamed in pain because he heard a loud snap, suggesting that his leg was now broken.

Meanwhile, everyone else had made it out of the falling trees' path. Sceptile and Charizard had helped out a lot through multiple Leaf Blade and Slash attacks. Then Pikachu's ears pricked up and he looked back. He would've run right into the falling trees' path if not for Max picking him up. Pikachu then shocked Max, trying ot make him let go. Max screamed as the electricity went through him, but he still held onto Pikachu.

"Pikachu, you can't go in there. It's too dangerous," Max said.

"Pikapi(Ash)!" Pikachu shouted, struggling to get free.

"Are you trying to tell us that Ash is till stuck in there?" Brock asked.

Pikachu only nodded in response. Sceptile ran back into the horde of fallen and still falling trees.

"Sceptile be careful!" May and Max said.

Sceptile used a combo of Agility and Leaf Blade to quickly make his way through the already fallen and still falling trees. He soon heard roots snapping and looked up to see one more tree about to fall. Then he heard a familiar voice painfully moaning. He followed the direction of the moaning. Three Leaf Blades later, he finally saw Ash and gasped. Ash's left leg was completely pinned under a branch. He quickly made his way over to Ash, getting a better look at the situation. He got another Leaf Blade ready. He slowly brought his arm down, knowing that one wrong move would sever Ash's leg along with the branch. The branch soon fell away from Ash's leg.

"I...can't move...Sceptile. My leg...is broken," Ash said; pain etched in his voice.

The tree was now almost on top of them. Sceptile quickly picked Ash up and jumped on the falling tree. Ash wrapped his arms around Sceptile's neck, and Sceptile slwoly and gently swung Ash to his back. Then Sceptile moved the the backside of the falling tree. The tree had soon completely fallen, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. Everyone outside the danger zone anxiously waited for the dust to clear.

When the dust cleared, a most welcoming sight greeted them. Sceptile was on top of one of the fallen trees with Ash on his back. Sceptile made his way to where everyone else was standing and slowly lay down. Then Charizard came over and plucked Ash off of Sceptile's back. Sceptile then stood up again before going to the trees to absorb some of the nutrients. When he was satisfied, he came back and used the nutrients to heal Ash's leg.

Then Ash sat up. "That was really good thinking Sceptile. Thank you," he said.

"Sceptile scept tile(You're more than welcome)," Sceptile said.

"But where's Aerodactyl?" May asked.

"My guess is that it's under all those trees. We better get going. It will be a while before Aerodactyl makes a way out from under all that," Ash responded before standing up.

The others nodded, and they were all on the road again. They ended up spending another night on Route 110. By mid afternoon the next day, they had finally made it to the outskirts of Mauville City. But they were very concerned with what they saw. They saw a lot of smoke rising into the air. They quickly made their way inside the city and soon found themselves running away from a shower of sparks, as well as crazed appliances. While running, Ash and May had recalled Swellow, Sceptile, Beautifly and Torchic. Brock had also recalled Foretress and Lombre.

"What's going on here?" Ash asked while running.

"No idea," Max responed. "Ash look out!" he then shouted.

Ash looked up and saw a television falling towards him at a fast rate. Charizard quickly used Flamethrower. The television exploded in the air. Charizard knocked Ash to the ground, using its body to protect him. After the explosion died down, Charizard got up and helped Ash up.

"Thanks Charizard," Ash said.

(It was nothing) Charizard said.

"Let's head to the gym. Maybe Wattson knows what's up," Brock said.

The group of friends quickly made their way to the gym. Upon getting inside, they noticed that things weren't giving off sparks. They then caught their breath.

"Hello again my friends. You've come at an awful time I'm afraid," Wattson said.

"Do you know what's going on here?" Ash asked.

"I don't know what's going on exactly. But I have figured that whatever is going on has something to do with the power plant on Route 110. Something must be interrupting the power in the plant. It's the only explanation to why the electricity for every building is going haywire," Wattson responded.

"Why isn't this building affected too?" Max asked.

"The only reason why the gym isn't affected either is because it's running on battery-powered generators," Wattson said. "But it's only a matter of time before they run out. They have been running all night so far."

"Why not have your Pokemon re-charge the batteries?" Brock suggested.

"That's a really good idea. We have lots of Hyper Potions and some Full Restores at our disposal," the junior trainer said.

"We'll head over to the power plant to see what's wrong," Ash said before turning to Pikachu. "Pikachu, I want you to stay here and help Wattson with the battery-powered generators," he added.

"Pika(Right)," Pikachu said nodding.

Then the junior trainer have Ash and friends a healthy amout of Hyper Potions and a couple of Full Restores. Wattson then gave them the key to the plant. Then Ash and friends were on their way to the power plant. A few hours later, they came to a lake. They soon spotted the plant.

"Are you up to some flying Charizard?" Ash asked.

Charizard nodded before picking Ash up and flying towards the power plant. He landed in front of the plant in ten minutes. He put Ash down before flying off again. He came back with both May and Max. He then flew off again and came back with Brock, who was holding Marshtomp. Then Ash gave Charizard a Hyper Potion.

"Thanks Charizard," Ash said.

Then everyone headed inside the plant and came to a huge metal door. Brock inserted the key Wattson gave him, and the door opened. Then they headed inside. Upon stepping inside, they found themselves the receivers of a very unwelcome committe. A Magnemite and a Magneton immediately came up to attack. Charizard and Marshtomp immediately stepped up to the challenge. Magneton and Magnemite started the attack with a Thunderbolt.

"Charizard, use Fire Spin!" Ash said.

Charizard complied, and the two Thunderbolt attacks were cancelled out in the Fire Spin died out.

"Use Mud Sport!" Brock shouted.

Marshtomp closed his eyes and concentrated. Soon, dirt began to seep up through the open spaces in the floor. When enough had gathered, Marshtomp had flung it all across the room.

"Now use Mud Shot on the Magnemite!" Brock followed up.

"Marshtomp(Eat dirt)," Marshtomp said as he shot a stream of mud at the Magnemite.

Magnemite couldn't get out of the way in time and took a direct hit from the Mud Shot. "Magnemite(Aaaaahhhh)!" Magnemite screamed as the mud cme in contact with it. It fell to the ground, a large swirl replacing its eye.

"Magneton ton(I'll make you pay)!" Magneton said before using Zap Cannon at Charizard.

Charizard quickly flew up. Then he looked to Ash, awaiting Ash's next command. Ash nodded.

"Use your Flamethrower!" Ash shouted.

Charizard reared his head back and unleashed a mighty stream of fire. Magneton avoided it though and retaliated with another Thunderbolt. Charizard couldn't get completely out of the way and was struck. But he didn't feel the attack too much thanks to Marshtomp's Mud Sport.

"Are you all right Charizard?" Ash asked.

(Yeah) Charizard responded with a nod.

Magneton then unleashed another Thunderbolt attack.

"Use another Mud Shot!" Brock shouted.

"Marshtomp marsh(Eat dirt three eyes)!" Marshtomp shouted, firing off another Mud Shot.

"Brock, get Marshtomp to attack Magneton again. I have an idea," Ash said.

Brock complied, telling Marshtomp to use Water Gun. Marshtomp fired his Water Gun. Magneton avoided the attack again, b ut it was left wide open to Charizard this time.

"Charizard, use Fire Spin!" Ash commanded.

Charizard complied and sent a whirlpool of fire towards Magneton. Magneton couldn't get out of this attack's path and soon fell victim to the fiery attack. Magneton screamed as the fiery attack burned its steel skin. When the Fire Spin died down, Magneton was on the ground, Xs in its eyes. Charizard gave a roar of victory before landing next to Ash.

"Great job Charizard," Ash said, patting Charizard's arm.

"You did very well too Marshtomp," Brock said.

"Your Torchic can help us out too May," Ash then said.

"Yeah, she can help Charizard and Marshtomp out with some of the Magnemite and Magneton," Max agreed.

"Okay then. Come on out Torchic!" May said, throwing her Poke Ball.

Torchic came out of her ball. "Torchic(I'm ready)!" she said.

"Torchic, I want you to help Charizard and Marshtomp in case more Magnemite and Magneton attack us," May said.

"Torchic(Sure thing)," Torchic said.

Then the group of friends continued through the power plant. For about fifteen minutes, they had to battle off Magnemite and Magneton. They fought off some Voltorb as well, but Charizard, Marshtomp and Torchic held their own against the electric Pokemon. But a much bigger problem began presenting itself. The further they got into the plant, the stronger the electrical currents became. It seemed that Marshtomp and Ash were the only two that the electricity didn't seem to affect. Marshtomp wasn't affected because he was part Ground type, and Ash had developed an immunity to electricity from bing zapped by Pikachu so many times.

"Are you guys all right?" Ash asked.

"It's just that the electricity is getting stronger. You can handle electricity better than we can," Brock responded.

"Maybe Marshtomp and I should continue alone. I don't want you guys getting hurt," Ash suggested.

"Are you going to be okay?" Max asked.

"Right now, I'm more concerned about how the electricity will affect you. I'll be sure to thank Pikachu for all the times he shocked me because I really can't feel anything," Ash said. "We'll be okay. Don't worry," he added.

"Do whatever Ash tells you Marshtomp," Brock said.

"Marshtomp mar marsh(Don't worry about that)," Marshtomp said.

Then Ash and Marshtomp continued on. The currents continued getting stronger, but it wasn't a problem for Ash and Marshtomp. It also signaled that they were getting closer to the source of the trouble.

"We're getting closer Marshtomp. Get ready for a fight if necessary," Ash said.

Marshtomp nodded as they continued through the plant. Ten minutes later, they quickly covered their eyes due to a bright flash. When the flash died down, they gasped in awe. Before them were Zapdos and Raikou. But these two legendary Pokemon were fighting each other. Ash saw that the brawl between the two Pokemon was seriously affecting a large red generator that was in the room. The generator was sparking dangerously, as if getting ready to blow up like a huge bomb.

"They're the ones causing all the trouble. We have to stop them before they cause the generator to blow," Ash said. "Sprinkle the area with Mud Sport."

Marshtomp complied, also catching the fighting Pokemons' attention. But they weren't too happy about having their battle interrupted and moved to attack the intruders. Zapdos and Raikou had simultaneously unleashed their Thunder attacks. Zapdos was so angry right now that it didn't seem to recognize Ash. Marshtomp got in forn tof Ash and took the very strong blow. Because of Marshtomp's ground qualities, he was not affected by this strong attack. Ash was ready to retaliate.

"Marshtomp, use Mud Shot on Raikou!" Ash said.

Marshtomp complied and fired off a streamed of mud. Raikou attemtped to get ouf of the way with Agility, but it slipped on the mud from the Mud Sport. The Mud Shot made direct contact. Raikou roared in pain, but it managed to recover. Zapdos then came at Ash with a Drill Peck attack. Ash barely dodged this attack.

"Zapdos what are you doing? Don't you recognize me?" Ash asked.

Zapdos was still too angry about having its battle interrupted to listen. It came at Ash with another Drill Peck. Marshtomp used Mud Shot. Zapdos couldn't pull up in time and took a direct hit from the Mud Shot. Zapdos crashed on the ground. But it quickly stood up before shaking the mud off and taking to the air again. It then dodged a stray Thunderbolt. Raikou tried to use a Thunderbolt on Ash, but slipped on the mud on the ground.

Zapdos retaliated on Raikou with a Thunder attack. Because of the mud, Raikou couldn't avoid the attack and took a direct hit. Raikou fainted. It was also hurt pretty badly from taking Zapdos's attacks as well as the Mud Shot. Slipping and falling on the mud really didn't help it that much either. Zapdos then turned its attention back to Ash and Marshtomp. Ash and Marshtomp could see that Zapdos was still angry. It gave off another Thunder Attack. Marshtomp took the blow again without any effect.

'Zapdos is still too angry to reason with. The only reason that Marshtomp is still okay is because he's part Ground,' Ash thought. He looked up at Zapdos again and saw something that he didn't see before. He saw electricity crackling from Zapdos. He immediately got an idea. "Marshtomp, I'll distract Zapdos. When it's fully distracted, use Water Gun on it. We'll make it short its own self out," he whispered in Marshtomp's ear.

"Marsh(Okay)," Marshtomp said.

"Come and get me," Ash said, waving his arms at Zapdos.

Zapdos squawed in anger and charged straight for Ash with a Wing Attack. Ash quickly avoided the attack. Zapdos came with another Wing Attack. Again, Ash avoided the attack. Marshtomp waited for an opening. He was very worried that Ash would be hurt before an opening could come. But that would fortunately not happen because Ash had just doged a Drill Peck attack, putting Zapdos on a collision course with Marshtomp. Marshtomp waited until the next to last minute to fire the Water Gun.

Zapdos screeched in pain as it felt the pain of its own electricity. It then crashed to the ground, injured and severely weakened, but still conscious. Ash could see that Zapdos no longer had anger in its eyes. Zapdos had now looked at Ash with recognition. It smiled at him before finally fainting as well. Ash gave Marshtomp and Full Restore before turning his attention to the two injured Pokemon.

"Zapdos and Raikou need help fast. As much as I don't want to doj this, I have to. Poke Balls go!" Ash said before throwing two empty balls. 

Zapdos and Raikou couldn't struggle because they had fainted and were easily caught. But Ash didn't intend to keep them. He only caught them to be able to make it to the Pokemon Center easier. Then he and Marshtomp made their way back to where they left the others. They made it back to the others twenty minutes later. Brock and the others were relieved to see that Ash was okay. Then they noticed two Poke Balls in Ash's hands. That confused them. Ash usually had his balls on his belt until he needed them.

"Why are you carrying those balls Ash?" Max asked.

"Because we need to get these Pokemon help as soon as possible," Ash responded quickly before quickly heading for the entrance to the power plant.

"Wait for us," May said before recalling Torchic. Then she and the others ran and soon caught up with Ash.

They made it to the entrance twenty minutes later. Ash gave Charizard a Full Restore before getting on its back. Charizard took Ash back to Route 110 before going to get the others. An hour later, everyone was back on Route 110. Ash then returned Charizard before everyone headed back for Mauville. Upon reaching the city, they saw that things have quieted down considerably. They immediately headed to the Pokemon Center. Ash then gave Nurse Joy the three Poke Balls. He received Charizard's ball in only ten minutes. While waiting for the other two Poke Balls, Ash told his friends everything that happened.

"Wow! So you say that Zapdos and Raikou were the cause of the trouble?" Max said.

"Yes. I think that both wanted to make the power plant their dwelling place. But they apparently thought that the plant wasn't big enough for both of them, so they fought each other to see who would be the one to stay," Ash said. He and his friends ended up spending the night at the Pokemon Center.

The next morning, Ash received the other two Poke Balls, and he and the others headed for the gym. Upon reaching the gym, Pikachu ran to and jumped into Ash's arms. Ash smiled and hugged his little yellow friend.

"I missed you too buddy," Ash said.

"Things are finally back to normal thanks to you and your friends Ash," Wattson said.

"It was no problem Wattson," Ash said. Then he told them what caused the trouble in the first place.

"I would've never imagined that the Legendaries Zapdos and Raikou were the cause of all this mess," Wattson said.

"Neither would I," Ash said. "My history of you shocking me was a big help Pikachu," he added before telling Wattson and the junior trainer how Pikachu had indirectly helped him.

"So, where are you headed now?" the junior trainer asked.

"We will continue our journey to Foretree City," Brock responded.

"I can help you across the lake to Route 118. It's just about a straight shot to Foretree City once you cross the lake," Wattson said.

"That would be great. Thank you," Ash said. "But first, I have some unfinished business to take care of." He then went outside the city before releasing Zapdos and Raikou. "You're free to go if you want. I only caught you so that I could get you to the Pokemon Center so you could be healed."

Raikou jumped on Ash. It licked his face a few times before getting off of him and quickly running into the distance. Zapdos on the other hand just looked at Ash. It didn't move an inch.

"Do you want to come with me?" Ash asked.

Zapdos nodded in response before giving Ash a friendly Thundershock, friendly because it was a low-watt Thundershock. Ash barely felt it. Ash only laughed and returned Zapdos before heading back to his friends.

"So what happened?" Max asked upon seeing Ash.

"I went to release Raikou and Zapdos. Raikou thanked me before running off. Zapdos however, wanted to be my Pokemon so I returned it," Ash responded.

"It seems as though we have another powerful Pokemon on our team," Brock said.

"We sure do," Ash said, looking at the Poke Ball in his hand. He then clipped it to his belt. Then he and the others went with Wattson.

Wattson led them to his home. With Charizard and Sceptile's help, he was able to get his speedboat out. They helped Wattson get it to the lake before Ash recalled them. Then he with Pikachu on his shoulder, May, Max and Brock got into the boat. Wattson revved up the motor, and the group of friends enjoyed a smooth ride across the lake. Half an hour later, they reached the shoreline of Route 118. Ash and friends got off.

"Good luck on your journey Ash," Wattson said before heading back to Mauville.

Ash and friends waved until Wattson was out of sight. Then they continued on their journey to Foretree City. It was an interesting turn of events. Ash had not only returned things to normal for Mauville City, but he also had gained one of the most Legendary Pokemon as a new ally.

Well, here's the end of another chapter. I'm very sorry about not getting this up sooner. The truth is that I had this chapter ready to post for at least two weeks. The only reason I delayed the update is because I was hoping to be able to update one of my Yugioh stories. I couldn't seem to get any good ideas going to finish some of the chapters that I'd already started on so I decided to just go ahead and update this story. I hoped you liked the surprise near the end of this chapter though. And as far as Wattson having a speedboat, I did that because I decided to save Ash and friends the trouble of crossing the lake. Moving right along, preview for Chapter 5: Sky Battle: Ash and his friends have finally made it to Foretree City. But before Ash can head for the gym to ask Winona for a gym battle, something goes terribly wrong. What goes wrong? I think you'll have a good idea already but stay tuned to find out and maybe even confirm what you're thinking.  



	5. Sky Battle

Recap: Ash and friends headed for Mauville City. They had to deal with Aerodactyl again along the way, but Charizard was able to knock it out of commission for a while. Upon reaching Mauville, they found an electrical nightmare. They made it to the gym and found out that something was going down at the New Mauville power plant. Ash and friends investigated, having to deal with Magnemite, Magneton and Voltorb along the way. Soon, Ash and Marshtomp found the cause of the electrical trouble to be a battle between the legendaries Zapdos and Raikou. They were able to put a stop to the brawl before the huge amount of electricity could blow the generator. Zapdos and Raikou ended up being injured pretty bad so Ash took them to be healed. Afterwards, he let them go. Raikou went into the distance but Zapdos had decided to be one of Ash's Pokemon.  
( ) after Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
/ is Zapdos talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts

Chapter 5: Sky Battle

Ash and friends were continuing on their trek towards Foretree City. What happened yesterday was something that Ash would never forget. Sure it got off to a bad start with Aerodactyl making a second attempt, and having to stop an electrical crisis in Mauville City, but it turned into an extremely rare opportunity because he had caught the legendary Zapdos to be his fifth Pokemon on his journey through Hoenn.

A few hours later, Ash and friends stopped to take a rest. They were halfway through Route 118. They then let their Pokemon out. Even though Ash told May, Max and Brock about capturing Zapdos, seeing the very rare Pokemon left them awestruck. The Pokemon except Marshtomp had the same awestruck expression. Ash just laughed at his freinds' expressions.

"I know how you feel about this. I still can't believe it myself," Ash said as Zapdos landed next to him. He then scratched Zapdos's head.

Zapdos gave a happy squawk upon being scratched. Then Zapdos headed back to head hang around with the other Pokemon. Pikachu had climbed aboard Zapdos's back. Then Marshtomp also got on Zapdos's back. Zapdos smiled before taking off. Ash went over to Charizard and whispered something in its ear. Charizard nodded and leaned over. Ash got on Charizard's back before it took off. Then Swellow soon took off as well with Beautifly following. The others just smiled at Ash and the six Pokemon.

"Let's let them have their fun. They'll be back down when they're ready," Brock said.

The others nodded. Meanwhile, Charizard and Zapdos were high in the sky. Charizard then began doing stunts in the air. He looped de looped through the air to start. Then he did vertical, horizontal and diagonal spirals. Then he rotated between loops, spins and spirals through the air. Ash was just laughing the entire time. Zapdos had done aerodynamics of his own as well. Pikachu squealed in delight and Marshtomp laughed as well as Zapdos did stunts. Swellow and Beautifly did aerodynamics of their own as well.

"Hey Pikachu, do you want to continue the flight with Charizard and me?" Ash asked an hour later.

"Pika(Yeah)!" Pikachu said.

Zapdos pulled alongside Charizard, and Pikachu jumped into Ash's waiting arms. Ash put Pikachu in front of him before Zapdos put distance between itself and Charizard again.

"Are you having fun Marshtomp?" Ash asked.

"Marsh mar(Lot's of it)!" Marshtomp said happily.

"What about you Swellow, Beautifly?" Ash then asked.

"Swellow swell(I'm having fun)," Swellow said.

"Beau(Me too)," Beautifly added.

Charizard, Beautifly, Swellow and Zapdos stayed in the air doing stunts until the sky turned orange, meaning that the sun was going down. Deciding that it was stime to head back, they headed back to where the others were. To make sure that they wouldn't get too tired, Ash had given his flying friends Hyper Potions during the flight as the Hyper Potions were needed. They made it back about four hours into the night.

"I'd take it that you had a good time," Brock said.

"We had a blast," Ash said as he and Pikachu dismounted Charizard.

"Pika pika(We sure did)," Pikachu said.

"Marsh(Yeah)!" Marshtomp said happily.

"Swellow(Lot's of fun)," Swellow added as Beautifly nodded.

Then Ash and the others sat down to eat. An hour later, they prepared to turn in for the night. Ash, Brock, May and Max got their sleeping bags and put them on the ground. Then Ash's Pokemon surrounded him. Sceptile and Charizard were at his left and right sides. This time, Pikachu and Swellow were at his head while Zapdos was sleeping at his feet. The rest of Ash's Pokemon had told Zapdos about the attempts on Ash's life. That had angered Zapdos but he managed to keep his electricity in check. The other Pokemon knew that they had another ally in the battle against Damien and Aerodactyl just from Zapdos's reaction.

"Well goodnight guys," Ash said before going to sleep.

The others said their goodnights before also going to sleep. Meanwhile, Damien was staying at the weather station that was just on the outskirts of Foretree City. Damien was headed to Foretree himself when he got caught up in a rainstorm. Route 119 was known for it sudden rainstorms so the weather station was a big asset for the people of the Hoenn region.

'I'll get Charizard back no matter how long it takes. It was mine to begin with and it should still be mine. It will be of great use to me now that it's really strong,' Damien thought. He would unfortunately find out that Ash and friends would be in Foretree City as well.

The next morning, Ash and friends sat to a quick breakfast before getting ready to continue towards Foretree City. Ash had recalled Charizard because Brock told him how a rainstorm could come up at any time. Sure enough, it started to cloud up when they got closer to Route 119. When they got to Route 119, the sky virtually opened up. The group of friends ran through the rain. A few hours later, they came to the weather station and went inside.

"I see that you and your Pokemon got caught in the storm," a little boy said.

"I knew that rainstorms could pop up anytime, but this time it really caught me off guard," Brock said.

Then the head meteorologist of the weather station came out. He smiled upon seeing Brock. "It's good to see you again Brock," he said.

"Good to see you too," Brock said.

"How have things been in Pewter?" the meteorologist asked.

"Things have been just fine," Brock responded. "So, you know when the storm's going to let up?"

"You don't have to worry about the storm much longer. It will pass in an hour. That's more than enough time for you to get dried off," the meteorologist said. "You can stay here until it does."

"Thanks," Max said.

An hour later, the storm did clear. Ash and friends thanked the meteorologist before heading back out. About two hours later, they had finally arrived in Foretree City. They went to the Pokemon Center first so they could get their Pokemon rested and refreshed. When they came out, a most unexepected person stood in front of them.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked with irritation in his voice.

"Cool it Shorty," Damien retorted. He earned a hard slap from May as a result.

"Don't you call my brother Shorty again buster," May said.

"I'll call him whatever I want Gypsy Girl," Damien retorted again. He screamed in pain from feeling Torchic's Ember attack.

"I suggest you watch your mouth. Our Pokemon don't take kindly to people who smart mouth us in front of them," Ash said. Suddenly, he was knocked down. He and everyone else looked to see a Scyther behind him. He tried to get back up, but he screamed in pain, his back was slashed open.

"I suggest that you be more on guard," Damien said smirking.

Pikachu was about to shock Scyther silly when Ash's Poke Balls opened on their own accord. Protectively in front of Ash were Charizard, Sceptile and Swellow. But the fifth Pokemon had surprised and amazed everyone except Ash, May, Max, Brock and their Pokemon. The legendary Zapdos stood before them. Zapdos didn't look too happy either. His entire body was sparking, his anger directed right at the Scyther.

"It's a Zapdos!" one person shouted.

"But how could this boy have captured one?" another person asked.

Winona, who had come out of her gym upon hearing the commotion, looked on in awe. "I've always heard about Zapdos, but I never thought I would see one," she said. She noticed that it and the Pokemon around it appeared to be guarding something. She moved around the crowd to see what the Pokemon were standing in front of. She gasped in horror upon seeing a young boy with a life-threatening injury to his back.

Zapdos then unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt attack on Scyther. Scyther screamed in pain as the powerful attack tore through its body. Then Charizard used Fire Spin while Torchic used Ember. Pikachu then came in with his own Thunderbolt attack. The combined attacks were more than enough to send Scyther straight to the E.R. Sceptile and Swellow had spotted more of Damien's Pokemon nearby and went to take care of them. They came back ten minutes later and stood back in front of Ash. Damien returned the fainted and seriously injured Scyther but not moving an inch.

"Sceptile tile scept(Maybe this will convince you to leave)," Sceptile said before unleashing his Bullet Seed attack. He saw that Damien only moved to get out of the seeds' path. He then charged up for a Solarbeam.

Seeing Sceptile charge up for the Solarbeam did it. Damien fled like a scared little monkey. Sceptile shot the Solarbeam at Damien's feet, sending Damien flying into the air. Everyone soon heard a ping. Damien went blasting off like Team Rocket always did.

"Good riddance to you!" May yelled. She moved to recall her Pokemon when Torchic suddenly started glowing.

"Torchic is evolving," Max said in awe.

The little Torchic started to grow a bit. When the glow died down, a new Pokemon stood in Torchic's place. This Pokemon was about 3' tall. It had a whitish body with large and bulky orange legs, suggesting that it was a very powerful kicker.

"Combusken(I've evolved)!" the new Pokemon shouted.

May pulled out her Pokedex.

"Combusken, the young fowl Pokemon. Combusken is the evolved form of Torchic. A Combusken's legs are so powerful, that it can easily smash boulders just by kicking them," the Pokedex said.

May then recalled her Pokemon. Then she looked at her badly injured friend. "Oh Ash," she said worriedly.

"Let's take him back to the Pokemon Center," Brock said before returning his Pokemon as well.

Sceptile gently picked Ash up. Then Sceptile, the rest of Ash's Pokemon, May, Brock and Max headed for the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy was very worried upon seeing blood dripping from the injured trainer's back. She immediately rushed to the group.

"Oh my, what happened?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Damien tried to kill Ash again," Max, very worried about his badly injured friend.

"What do you mean again?" another female voice then asked.

The others looked back to see a beautiful woman dressed in light blue. Her hair flowed down to her waist, except for the parts that looked like small wings. She wore a hat with little wings near the top. Brock and the others figured that she had something to do with flying-type pokemon just from her appearance.

"I'm Winona, leader of the Foretree City gym," the woman said.

"I'm Max, and these are my friends Brock, Ash, and my sister May. A Scyther trained by Damien seriously injured Ash. Ash's Zapdos, Charizard and Pikachu and May's Torchic, now a Combusken, put Scyther out for the count, and we brought him here," Max said.

"Chansey, get a stretcher pronto," Nurse Joy said.

"Chansey(Right away)!" Chansey said before quickly going to get a stretcher. She soon came back with one, and Sceptile gently placed Ash down on it. She and Nurse Joy then rushed Ash to the E.R.

Sceptile then went to the restroom and washed the blood off on his arms and hands. After finishing, he went into the waiting room. Soon, the other Pokemon joined him there.

"So what brings you here to Foretree?" Winona then asked.

"We came so Ash could battle you for the Feather Badge," Max responded.

"When he get's better, he'll get his battle. But what do you mean by Damien trying to kill Ash again?" Winona said.

May then told Winona everything about the encounters with Damien Winona couldn't believe what she heard. She never thought that any trainer would stoop so low as to actually kill another trainer. But her shocked expression then turned into an expression of anger. She found herself very glad about Ash's Pokemons' actions. Speaking of Ash's Pokemon, they were anxiously waiting for any news of their trainer's condition. They prayed for the best.

(I pray that Ash will be all right) Charizard said.

/We all do/ Zapdos said.

"Sceptile scept tile scept(He didn't do anything to deserve this)," Sceptile added.

Brock, May, Max and Winona soon joined Ash's Pokemon in the waiting room. Then an Officer Jenny came into the room. Brock didn't even think about flirting because he was much more worried about Ash.

"I heard that a trainer in here almost got killed today. Someone then told me that you could explain the situation better. Could you tell me what happened?" Jenny said.

Max told Officer Jenny everything that happened.

"I see. Well I'll do everything I can. First, I'll go and alert the other Officer Jenny's to be on the lookout for that trainer. He will be in more than hot water when we find him," Jenny said before leaving the Pokemon Center. She was determined to make sure that this wouldn't happen again. 'I've heard a lot about Ash. He's known for helping others. He doesn't deserve something like this happening to him. When I find that arrogant trainer Damien, he'll be in very big trouble,' she thought.

Nurse Joy came into the waiting room half an hour later. "Your friend is very lucky. That Scyther missed a major artery by only a couple of inches. I doubt your friend would have survived if the Scyther had struck that artery. I've got him stabilized now," she said.

"That's very good news," Winona said as the others nodded.

"May we see him?" Brock asked.

"Yes. Come with me," Nurse Joy responded before leaving.

The others followed Nurse Joy. They came to a room that Ash was placed in several minutes later. The room was a fair size so everyone could be in there. Pikachu ran to and jumped into the bed. He made sure to be careful so he wouldn't unintentionally hurt Ash more. Charizard and Sceptile pulled up chairs by either side of the bed. Swellow and Zapdos settled down by the foot of the bed.

Brock, May, Max and Winona stayed in the room with Ash for about two hours before Winona returned to her gym. Before leaving, Winona said that she would visit twice a day until Ash was released. Then Nurse Joy led Brock, May, and Max to two seperate rooms where they could settle in for the week. Nurse Joy went back into Ash's room and felt her stomach drop. Ash's condition had quickly taken a turn for the worse, and he flat lined. She saw the looks of helplessness and desperation in the eyes of all of Ash's Pokemon. She reacted quickly.

"Pikachu, Zapdos, I need you to use Thundershock on him. We have to get his heart beating again," Nurse Joy said.

"Pikachu(Here it goes)!" Pikachu said.

/I hope this works/ Zapdos siad as he combined his own Thundershock with Pikachu's.

At first, nothing appeared to be happening. But Pikachu and Zapdos kept pouring their electricity into Ash. They would not give up on their trainer. Five minutes later, Pikachu showed signs of exhaustion. But he continued nevertheless. Several minutes later, the determination finally paid off. The flat liner started showing signs of regular heartbeats again. Pikachu collapsed and would've fallen off the bed had Charizard not been behind him. Charizard placed Pikachu back on the bed. Pikachu weakly opened his eyes. He saw Charizard and Zapdos's worried gazes upon him.

"Pika(I'm all right)," Pikachu said.

/That's a relief/ Zapdos said.

"Nice job both of you," Nurse Joy said.

Things were pretty uneventful the rest of the day. That night, Pikachu slept on the foot of the bed. After putting the chairs back at the table, Charizard and Sceptile slept at either side of the bed. Swellow slept in front of bed, and Zapdos slept a few feet behind her. Brock, May and Max on the other hand had a difficult time getting to sleep. Nurse Joy had told them what almost happened, and they were out of their minds with worry right now.

"I can't believe that Ash almost died today," Max said.

"He has always had uncanny luck. But if not for Pikachu and Zapdos, he wouldn't have been so lucky this time," Brock said. "Well it's getting late. We should try to get some sleep," he added.

"Well good night," Max said.

"Good night," Brock said.

About three days later, Ash had yet to awaken. His Pokemon stayed by the bed, hoping that he would wake up soon. Fortunately, they wouldn't have to wait much longer. Charizard had been holding Ash's hand. Suddenly, Charizard had felt his hand move. He was about to shrug it off when he felt his hand move again. He immediately looked toward Ash and saw Ash stir.

(He's waking up!) Charizard said happily.

"Pika(He is)?" Pikachu asked, hope evident in his voice.

"Sceptile, scept tile(Yes, I can see it)," Sceptile said, moving closer.

A few minutes later, Ash had finally opened his eyes. He couldn't make out anything at first because his vision was all blurry. When his vision cleared, he saw his Pokemon gathered around him. "Where are we?" he asked, catching Pikachu as it jumped into his arms and hugging it before putting it down. He tried to sit up, which wasn't a good idea. "Aaahhh!" he screamed immediately afterwards.

Charizard immediately supported Ash. Then he laid Ash back on the bed.

"Well that wasn't a good idea was it?" Ash asked jokingly.

His Pokemon shook their heads, smiling as well. Then Nurse Joy came into the room. She was very relieved upon seeing a now conscious patient.

"It's good to see you conscious," Nurse Joy said.

"How long was I out?" Ash asked.

"You were out for three days," Nure Joy responded.

"Three days!" Ash asked in disbelief.

"You had a terrifying injury that almost did you in," Nurse Joy responded before telling him what happened.

Ash looked at Pikachu and Zapdos. "Thanks you two," he said.

"Pikachu pika(Hey don't mention it)," Pikachu said.

/Yeah, we'll do all we can for you/ Zapdos added.

Just then, Brock, May and Max came into the room.

"He's awake!" Max exclaimed excitedly. He then went over to the bed.

"Thank goodness. I thought we lost you Ash," May said.

Then Ash's stomach gave a growl that could've been easily mistaken for a roar.

"I really can use something to eat right now," Ash said.

"You've got it," Brock said before him, Charizard and Sceptile headed into the kitchen.

About ten minutes later, they came out with a large assortment of food. Nurse Joy helped Ash get into a sitting position. Then Ash began to eat the food Brock made for him. Then, Winona came into the room. She was greatly relieved to see Ash awake. Ash looked at Winona in confusion.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"I'm Winona, the Foretree City Gym Leader. It's good to see you awake," Winona responded. She could see that Ash was still confused. "I was in my gym a few days ago when I heard a lot of commotion. I came out to investigate and I saw your Pokemon appearing to be guarding something. I got around the crowd and saw you lying on the ground with a frightening injury to your back. I watched as your Pokemon defeated the Scyther that injured you, and your Sceptile drive off the arrogant trainer responsible for your injury," she added.

Ash nodded before turning back to his meal. After he finished, Charizard and Sceptile helped Brock take the dishes back to the kitchen. Wanting some fresh air, Zapdos headed outside before taking to the air. He returned an hour later. The others could tell that he wasn't too happy at the moment.

(Let me guess. Some stupid trainers tried to catch you right?) Charizard said.

/Exactly/ Zapdos said.

"Pika, pika pi pika(Well, at least you didn't have to worry about them succeeding)," Pikachu said.

"Swellow, swell low(Yeah, you're already caught)," Swellow said.

"Sceptile, scept tile scept tile(Even if you weren't, they probably wouldn't have been able to catch you anyway)," Sceptile said.

/I have to admit. The looks on their faces when they found out that I had already been caught were priceless/ Zapdos said snickering

Other than some stupid trainers trying to catch Zapdos, things were pretty uneventful for the rest of the day. About three days later, Ash's back had completely healed. He had decided to wait another day before challenging Winona for the Feather Badge. He already knew that he was going to use Pikachu, but he didn't quite know whom else he was going to use. The extra day helped him in his decision. About mid morning the next day, Ash and Winona were atop the Foretree City Gym, ready to do battle.

"So Ash, are you ready" Winona asked.

"I sure am," Ash responded.

"Let's get started then. I choose Altaria!" Winona said, unleashing her Pokemon.

A large blue bird Pokemon came out of the Poke Ball. Some of its body appeared to be shrouded in clouds as it flapped cloud-like wings. It awaited its opponent.

"I choose you, Charizard!" Ash said, unleashing his Pokemon.

Charizard came out with a roar. He looked at his opponent and got ready to duke it out.

"Altaria, use Dragonbreath!" Winona said.

Altaria opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of green fire.

"Counter it with Flamethrower!" Ash said.

Charizard complied, and the two attacks cancelled each other out, kicking up a huge cloud of smoke as well. Winona then told Altaria to use Aerial Ace. Altaria came at Charizard very fast. Ash, Brock, May, Max and Winona saw Charizard get knocked out of the smoke. Soon, the smoke cleared.

"Now Altaria, use Twister!" Winona said.

Altaria conjured up the said attack and flung it towards Charizard."Fly up quick!" Ash said.

Charizard flew up with only seconds to spare as the attack sailed under him. But the attack headed straight for Ash now.

"Ash/Pikapi!" Pikachu, Brock, May and Max cried.

Charizard quickly reacted. He flew down and picked up Ash before flying back up again with only seconds to spare. The attack then fizzled out and Charizard put Ash back in the Trainer Box.

"Thanks Charizard," Ash said.

Charizard nodded before facing Altaria again. He wasn't angry with Altaria because he knew that it didn't know that its attack would head for Ash. He saw the apologetic look in Altaria's eyes and smiled at it.

"That was a close one wasn't it Altaria?" Winona asked.

Altaria made a confirmation noise.

"Use Aerial Ace again," Winona said.

Altaria prepared to strike Charizard again.

"Quick Charizard, use Fire Spin!" Ash said.

Charizard unleashed his Fire Spin attack. Altaria ended up right in the fiery cyclone.

"Get out of there with Agility!" Winona said.

Altaria was soon free.

"Use Dragon Dance Altaria," Winona said.

Altaria did so and followed up with Dragonbreath. This time, the attack came at Charizard too quickly for either him or Ash to react. Charizard was briefly knocked out of the sky. But he recovered and was soon airborne again. He wasn't in the air much longer as Altaria struck him with Aerial Ace.

"This is looking bad," May said worriedly."Yeah, Altaria's Dragon Dance greatly raised its speed. Ash will have to think of something fast or Altaria will just knock Charizard senseless," Brock said.

"Use Twister again, but watch your aim this time!" Winona said.

Altaria complied. This time, the attack made contact with its intended target, fizzling out a few minutes afterward. Ash looked on with worry. He could see that Charizard was getting pretty tired.

'None of Charizard's attacks are making impact now. Unless we can find a way to slow Altaria down, it's hopeless,' Ash thought desperately.

Then, a surprise move happened. Altaria suddenly found itself trapped in a Twister attack. It screamed in pain from the super-effective attack.

"Altaria!" Winona shouted in concern.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Brock responded.

"I think I know," Max said.

"Well what do you think happened?" May asked.

"I think Charizard somehow learned Twister," Max responded.

"Because Altaria is a dragon-type Pokemon and Twister is a dragon-type attack..." Brock started.

"The Twister attack is doing some super damage to it," May finished.

In another surprise move, Charizard used Dragonbreath on the still trapped Altaria.

"Whoa, Charizard learned Dragonbreath too," Ash said.

When the Twister subsided, Altaria fell to the ground. The referee went over to Altaria and saw swirls in its eyes. The referee pointed the green flag in Ash's direction.

"Altaria is no longer able to battle. Bout to Ash Ketchum," the referee said.

Charizard gave a victory roar. Then he landed on the field. He was exhausted, but was willing to continue if Ash wanted him to. Ash could see that Charizard was pretty tired.

"Do you want to rest Charizard?" Ash asked.

Charizard nodded. ('I don't think I would last too long if the next opponent is as tough as that Altaria was') he thought.

"Well then take a rest," Ash said before returning Charizard.

"That was pretty incredible. Your Pokemon must be a really fast learner to have learned two attacks during a gym battle," Winona said.

"Thanks Winona," Ash said.

"I'll let you choose your next Pokemon," Winona said.

"All right then. You're up Pikachu," Ash said.

"Pika(I'm ready)," Pikachu said taking the field.

"I choose Pelipper!" Winona said, unleashing the said Pokemon.

"Pelipper(Let's do it)!" Pelipper said.

"Start off with a Thunderbolt Pikachu!" Ash said.

Pikachu unleashed the attack.

"Pelipper, get out of the way!" Winona said.

Pelipper easily flew out of the Thunderbolt's path.

"Now use Hydro Pump!" Winona said.

"Pelipper(You're going down)!" Pelipper said before unleashing the Hydro Pump.

"Get out of there with Quick Attack!" Ash said.

"Pika(Right)!" Pikachu said before dashing out of the Hydro Pump's way.

But Pelipper was persistent and kept unleashing one Hydro Pump after another. Pikachu kept dodging. A few minutes later, Pelipper got in a lucky shot and struck Pikachu full force. Pikachu was sent into the pole of the trainer's box. When Pelipper stopped the Hydro Pump, Pikachu fainted on the field, swirls in his eyes.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Bout to Winona," the referee said.

Brock went onto the field and picked up the fallen Pikachu. Pikachu soon regained consciousness, but he was still pretty weak. But a trip to the Pokemon Center would fix that.

"You did your best Pikachu," Ash said. "Now it's your turn Sceptile," he added before releasing Sceptile.

"Sceptile(Let's get serious)," Sceptile said.

"Use Aerial Ace Pelipper!" Winona said.

Pelipper quickly advanced on Sceptile.

"Jump off the polel to avoid it Sceptile!" Ash said.

"Scept(Right)," Sceptile said before jumping from the poles.

"Use Hydro Pump!" Winona said.

"Counter it with Solarbeam!" Ash said.

Pelipper unleashed the powerful stream of water. Seconds later, Sceptile unleashed a Solarbeam. The two attacks met at the center, trying to get leeway over the other. The Solarbeam won out and struck Pelipper head on Pelipper got a good amount of damage done to it since it was also a water-type Pokemon.

"Bullet Seed Sceptile!" Ash said.

"Use Protect Pelipper!" Winona countered.

Sceptile unleashed his many seeds, but Pelipper's Protect warded them off.

"Now use Icy Wind!" Winona shouted.

Pelipper unleashed a blue wind towards Sceptile. Sceptile quickly dodged the attack by jumping from pole to pole. Not only that, but Sceptile had also gotten above Pelipper.

"Leaf Blade!" Ash shouted.

The leaves on Sceptile's wrists glowed and elongated. Sceptile brought his arm down and struck Pelipper. Pelipper fell to the ground, kicking up dust. When the dust cleared, Pelipper had swirls in its eyes.

"Pelipper is unable to battle. Bout to Ash Ketchum," the referee said.

"Good job Sceptile," Ash said.

Sceptile turned and gave Ash a thumbs' up before facing Winona again.

"You're a pretty good trainer Ash. But not many have been able to defeat my third Pokemon so get ready. Let's win this one Swellow!" Winona said before releasing her Swellow.

Ash and the others looked at the Swellow in awe. The Swellow that Winona unleashed looked nothing like Ash's Swellow. This Swellow was green, orange and white instead of black, red and white. It also looked bigger than Ash's Swellow was. The Swellow took to the air, ready to battle.

"All right Swellow. Start with Wing Attack!" Winona said.

The Swellow's wings glowed white, and it charged towards Sceptile.

"Quick attack Sceptile!" Ash said.

Sceptile waited for Swellow to get lower. Soon, Swellow was horizontal and still charging. Sceptile then charged for Swellow. They collided, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, Sceptile was down for the count.

"Sceptile can no longer battle. Bout to Winona," the referee said.

"Whoa, that Swellow is pretty strong," Max said in awe as Ash returned Sceptile, congratulating it for doing its best.

"Yeah, and Charizard is tired from his battle with Altaria. I just hope that he can hang out long enough," Brock said.

"I know you're tired Charizard but it's up to you now," Ash said before unleashing Charizard.

Charizard looked somewhat rested and was ready to do battle again. He took to the air and faced Swellow.

"Okay Swellow. Use Aerial Ace!" Winona said.

"Use Flamethrower Charizard!" Ash countered.

But Swellow was too quick. It slammed into Charizard before Charizard could fire. The force of the Aerial Ace knocked him into a loop. He recovered several moments later.

"We've got it on the ropes now Swellow. Use Aerial Ace again and finish it off!" Winona said.

"Quick, use Fire Spin!" Ash said.

Charizard was able to get in a Fire Spin. Swellow suddenly found itself trapped in the fiery cyclone. Ash wasn't about to let it recover.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Ash said.

Charizard fired a Flamethrower right into the Fire Spin, causing an explosion. Swellow fell from the sky but soon righted itself. Ash and Winona could see that it was pretty tired.

"Wow! What a combo!" Max said.

"I'll say. Swellow looked like it wasn't even tired when the battle started. But those two attacks seemed to have taken a big toll on it," May said.

"But it could've been Charizard who would've been almost out. If he didn't get off that Fire Spin in time, then he probably would've been close to faining," Brock said.

"Use Dragonbreath Charizard!" Ash said.

"Use Double Team!" Winona countered.

Swellow split itself into multiple images. The Dragonbreath went through a phony.

"Don't fret Charizard. Use Dragonbreath until you hit the real one," Ash said.

Charizard nodded and used Dragonbreath again. This time, he spun around in place. The phony Swellow disappeared as the attack touched them. Then a cry of pain as the real Swellow got struck.

"Quick Charizard, grab it and use Seismic Toss!" Ash said.

Charizard flew high into the air. He wound up and flew straight down for a little bit before throwing Swellow over his shoulder. Swellow slammed into the ground. When the dust cleared, Swellow had X's in its eyes.

"Swellow is unable to battle. The winner of this battle is Ash Ketchum of Pallet town," the referee said.

Charizard gave a victory roar.

Winona returned her Swellow. "You did great out there," she said as the Trainer Boxes lowered to the battlefield. Then she and the others descended the stairs and came out of the gym. "That was a battle that I will never forget Ash. You train your Pokemon very well," she said.

"Thanks Winona," Ash said.

"As proof that you beat me, here's the Feather Badge," Winona said before handing Ash the badge.

"All right," Ash said as he took the badge from her.

"The next gym is on Mossdeep Island," Winona said.

"Thanks Winona," Ash said.

"Well Lilycove City is on the way. There's a Pokemon Contest there," Max said.

"Let's stop by there first. I want to enter that contest," May said.

"All right May. Let's go to the Pokemon Center first though," Ash said.

Brock, May and Max nodded before they and Ash headed over to the Pokemon Center. Half an hour later, they were on their way once again. After a terrifying start in Foretree City, Ash made a great finish by earning his sixth badge. Now he and his friends were bound for Lilycove and the next Pokemon Contest.

Well, that's it for this chapter. Finally, I was able to finish this and post it. So what did you think about Charizard learning two attacks in the middle of a Gym battle. I thought that if Noctowl could learn an attack in the middle of a gym battle, any of Ash's Pokemon could do it. Moving along, preview for Chapter 6: A Legendary Battle: Ash and friends make it to Lilycove. but the Pokemon Contest will be the only enjoyable thing this day. While on their way to Mossdeep Island, the ferry that Ash and friends are on encounters very strange weather. Wallace is in the area and tells them that the haywire weather is because two very powerful legendary Pokemon have been awakened. Can Ash set things straight before the balance of the entire world is thrown out of whack? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.

One of the reasons why updates will be sporadic is because I have a job now. I work in the field of Data Entry with EDS in Downtown LA for Volt Services Group from 9am-5:30pm M-F. Between the work and the traffic, I really need time to unwind when I get home. But I do have the next chapter as well as two more chapters of this story completed and will try to update them over the next two to three weekends.


	6. A Legendary Battle

Recap: Ash and friends had made it to Foretree City. After a terrifyiing start to their visit, namely Damien almost being responsible for killing Ash, things had slowly gotten better. Within about a week, Ash was able to challenge Winona for his sixth badge. The battle was a grueling one, but Ash and his Pokemon came out on top. They then headed to Lilycove so May could compete in the contest.  
( ) following Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
/ is Zapdos talking  
**Bold words ** is Rayquaza talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts

Chapter 6: A Legendary Battle

Several days have passed since Ash earned his sixth badge. After how things started for Ash in Foretree, earning the badge was the crowning glory. Ash and friends were currently in the Lilycove City Pokemon Center. The trip from Foretree to Lilycove would've probably taken them a day and a half if not for all the trainers around.

Ash's Pokemon won every single trainer battle. The battles were numerous, but Ash made sure to give his Pokemon Hyper Potions as the potions were needed. As of current, Nurse Joy had returned Ash's Pokemon. After taking his Pokemon from Nurse Joy, Ash and the others headed for the Pokemon Contest building. They had arrived several moments later.

"So are you ready for this May?" Brock asked.

"I hope so," May responded.

"You'll do fine May," Ash said.

"Thanks Ash," May said before she and the others entered so she could sign up for the contest.

Meanwhile, a sinister plot was already starting to unfold. Deep under the sea, Team Aqua was nearing Kyogre's slumbering area. Archie had stolen the blue orb from Mt. Pyre and was now moments away from awakening Kyogre.

"What's our position?" Archie asked.

"We're almost there now sir," a grunt responded.

"Excellent. My dream of sea expansion will finally be achieved," Archie said.

But Archie wasn't the only one moments away from awakening a super powerful Pokemon. Two days ago, Team Magma found out that Groudon had been sleeping in their hideout all along. Maxie had gone to Mt. Pyre and stolen the red orb the next day. Now he had just entered the room where the legendary Groudon slept.

"With this orb, my dream of landmass expansion will be a reality," Maxie said before pointing the orb towards Groudon.

The orb glowed so bright that everyone had to cover his/her eyes. When the glow died down, Groudon was wide-awake.

"Now Groudon, let's go," Maxie said.

Groudon came out of the lava before digging a tunnel that led outside. Upon being outside, the sun's rays had intensified. Everyone nearby had felt the sudden temperature increase.

"Excellent, things are going according to plan," Maxie said.

But that wasn't the case for long. The sky had soon clouded up. Then rain began to fall. An hour later, the sun had shone very bright again before rain came down another hour later. It was like the weather didn't know what it wanted to do as it alternated between sun and heavy rain.

"What's going on?" a grunt asked.

"It must be Team Aqua. They must've awakened Kyogre. They're probably experiencing the same thing we are so they know that we awakened Groudon," an executive responded.

"Let's find them. We'll never achieve landmass expansion with the weather going awry like this," Maxie said.

Groudon was able to sense Kyogre's presence. He dug underground.

"What's Groudon doing?" a grunt asked.

"It must know where Kyogre is. It will lead us right to Team Aqua. Let's go," Maxie responded.

Team Magma got into their land vehicles and used infared scanners to follow the burrowing Groudon. Meawhile back at Lilycove, May had made it into the finals. She was facing a young girl with an Absol. May used her Combusken. It seemed like May would win, but the young girl's Absol had easily taken out Pokemon that had type advantage over it.

"I hope that May can win this one," Max said.

"I know. The girl trained her Absol very well," Brock said.

"As long as May doesn't panic, she'll be fine," Ash said.

The battle was on.

"Combusken, start of with Fire Spin!" May said.

"Combusken(You're getting burned)!" Combusken said, unleashed a whirling cyclone of fire.

"Absol, Agility!" the young girl said.

Absol quickly evaded the Fire Spin.

"Use Swords Dance and follow up with Shadow Ball," the young girl said.

Absol complied. The Shadow Ball that Absol had launched was a large one due to the Swords Dance.

"Use Fire Spin again Combusken," May said.

"Combusken(Here it goes)!" Combusken said before unleashing the fiery attack.

The Shadow Ball went right through the Fire Spin like a hot knife through butter. Combusken was knocked to the ground as the Shadow Ball impacted her. She slowly got back up.

"Whoa, that was some combo," Max said worriedly.

"I have faith in May. I know that she will think of something," Ash said.

"I hope you're right Ash. Combusken is looking pretty tired already," Brock said.

"Surround it with Double Team and Agility Absol!" the young girl said.

Absol split itself into many, encircling Combusken.

"Now use Shadow Ball again!" the girl said.

"Jump Combusken!" May said.

Combusken jumped just as the Shadow Balls were launched. In an ironic twist of fate, the real Shadow Ball had ended up hitting the real Absol. The other images then faded away.

"Wow, talk about a backfiring attack. In trying to attack Combusken, Absol got struck by its own Shadow Ball," the judge said.

"Combusken, Double Kick Absol while it's disoriented!" May said.

Combusken went to Absol and kicked it twice. Absol staggered a bit but was still very much in the fight.

"That was a mistake on our part Absol. But we won't make it again won't we," the girl said.

Absol gave a confirmation noise before facing Combusken again.

"Now use Quick Attack!" the girl said.

"Wait for it Combusken. Then use Sky Uppercut!" May countered.

Combusken closed her eyes in concentration. She stayed still as Absol charged for her. Just as Absol was about to strike, Combusken opened her eyes and gave Absol a devastating uppercut to the jaw. Absol was sent flying into the air. It then slammed into the ground so hard that it didn't get back up. It had swirls in its eyes.

"Combusken has ended the battle with one decisive hit. Absol is down and out. May wins this contest," the judge said as the crowd cheered.

"She did it," Max said in awe.

"What did I tell you? I knew that she could," Ash said before going out of the stands, Max and Brock following.

They met May in the lobby.

"You did great May," Ash said.

"Thanks Ash. I thought about what you told me about not panicking. That really helped," May said.

"You're welcome May. Let's head to the Pokemon Center so Combusken can be healed. Then we'll be on our way," Ash said.

The others nodded and headed outside. The weather was still nice so they had no idea that two super powerful Pokemon had been awakened. They headed to the Pokemon Center. About ten minutes later, they had caught a ferry to Mossdeep Island.

About ten minutes into the trip however, the weather suddenly turned stormy. About three waterspouts had missed the ferry. But there was plenty of lightning around so the captain had ordered everyone inside. Ash had ignored the order and was still out on deck. Pikachu was standing beside him. Pikachu knew that something was wrong. Zapdos had come out of his Poke Ball and was flying alongside the boat.

"Something's wrong isn't it?" Ash asked.

Zapdos only nodded. He looked ahead upon hearing a loud noise. Ash looked ahead as well and saw a speedboat heading towards the ferry. As the boat came closer, Ash could see a young man at the controls. Soon, the speedboat was going right alongside the ferry.

"Who are you?" Ash asked.

"My name is Wallace. I was sent to investigate the sudden change in the weather," the young man responded.

"What do you think is behind this?" Ash asked.

"I fear that Kyogre was awakened," Wallace responded.

"Kyogre?" Ash asked.

"Yes. Kyogre is a legendary Pokemon who was slumbering under the ocean. Now that it's awakened, the rain will continue," Wallace responded.

"Will it ever stop?" Ash asked.

"It won't as long as Kyogre's drizzle ability is in effect. At this rate, the rain will cause floods in less than an hour," Wallace said.

The captain came above deck. He soon saw Wallace. "What do you suggest that I do?" he asked.

"Where are you headed?" Wallace asked.

"We're headed to Mossdeep," the captain responded.

"Pacifidlog Town hasn't been affected by the weather yet. You should dock there," Wallace said.

"I'll tell my crew immediately," the captain said before going back inside. He told his crew to change course and alerted the passengers to the course change. On the way to Pacifidlog town, the weather suddenly became sunny and hot. With Zapdos's help, Wallace was now aboard the ferry. He had put his speedboat on automatic pilot. The speedboat was following the ferry.

"Why is it so hot all of a sudden?" Ash asked.

"Groudon must have been awakened as well. Its ability is Drought, which greatly intensifies the sun's rays. If this keeps up, the water of the world could dry up," Wallace responded.

About an hour later, the weather had alternated between sunny and stormy. The sun would be out for five minutes then it would get stormy for five minutes and so on. Other passengers had come out to sun only to end up being caught in the rain.

"This is some crazy weather," one passenger said.

"Tell me about it. I'm going back inside before I get hypothermia," another passenger said.

"What are we going to do?" Brock asked.

"There is one Pokemon that can help settle Groudon and Kyogre," Wallace said.

"Who is it?" May asked.

"The legendary dragon Rayquaza," Wallace responded.

"But where is Rayquaza?" Ash asked.

"Rayquaza is in the Sky Pillar," Wallace responded. He saw the ash-covered land coming out of the water. "We're nearing my home city of Sootopolis. It appears as though the weather is really alternating a lot faster here. I have to say that Groudon and Kyogre must be here," he added upon noticing the faster alternations beteween sun and rain.

"Well let's go investigate," Ash said.

"It might be too dangerous," Wallace said.

"Trust me. We've been in more dangerous situations than this," Ash said.

"All right. Let's get to my boat," Wallace said.

"Zapdos, can you help us out?" Ash asked.

Zapdos gave a confirmation squawk before helping Wallace, May, Max and Brock into Wallace's speedboat. Then Ash got aboard Zapdos.

"We'll head to Sky Pillar and see if Rayquaza will help us out," Ash said.

"All right. Sky Pillar is to the northeast of here. Good luck," Wallace said.

"Thanks," Ash said before Zapdos flew off for the Sky Pillar.

Then the speedboat began to change.

"What's happening?" Max asked.

"My boat can become a medium-sized submarine. It really comes in handy. Although there is an air entrance since the city was built inside a dead volcano, the main entrance is an underwater one," Wallace responded.

The boat had fully converted moments later. Then the sub dove underwater and through the entrance before surfacing in the city. After surfacing, the sub converted back into a speedboat. Wallace and the others immediately saw the battle going on between Groudon and Kyogre, Kyogre being in the water and Groudon on a strip of land that was now jutting out of the water. They could also see a blue sub behind Kyogre, and a red sub behind Groudon.

"Use Hydro Pump Kyogre!" Archie said.

Kyogre launched a large stream of water towards Groudon.

"Counter it with Solarbeam!" Maxie said.

Groudon complied. The Solarbeam went straight through the Hydro Pump. It slammed into Kyogre, knocking her back underwater. She surfaced and shook her head a little before facing Groudon again.

"That's the way to show it Kyogre. It's going to take more than that to stop us," Archie said. "Freeze it with Ice Beam!"

"Don't let that beam come near you Groudon. Use Fire Blast!" Maxie said.

Groudon unleashed a large fiery star, which stopped the Ice Beam in its tracks.

"I should've known. Team Aqua and Team Magma are behind this," Wallace said.

"I just hope Ash is successful," May said.

"So do I," Brock said.

"Pika(Me too)," Pikachu said.

Meanwhile, Ash and Zapdos had made it to the Sky Pillar. Then Ash and Zapdos entered before Ash released Charizard, Swellow and Sceptile to deal with any wild Pokemon that may be dwelling here. They had encountered Mawile, Claydol, Sableye and Banette along the way, but Zapdos, Swellow, Charizard and Sceptile easily dealth with them. About twenty minutes later, they had come to where Rayquaza rested. They gasped in awe upon seeing the dragon Pokemon. It was a long and elegant green dragon with two arms near the front of its body.

Rayquaza awakened to see Ash and Pokemon facing him. **"Welcome to Sky Pillar,"** he said.

Ash gasped in shock upon hearing Rayquaza speak English. But he quickly recovered, getting back to the task at hand.

**"I sense the balance of nature has been disturbed. What has happened?"** Rayquaza said, seeing a disturbed look in Ash and his Pokemons' eyes.

"Groudon and Kyogre have been awakened and are causing the weather to go haywire," Ash said.

**"This is bad news. We must act quickly before things get too much out of hand,"** Rayquaza said. **"I can easily find where they are. Get on. I'll give you a ride there,"** he added.

Ash returned his Pokemon before climbing on Rayquaza's back. Rayquaza took to the sky, heading for Sootopolis City. In Sootopolis, the battle was still raging on. Neither Pokemon appeared to be tired. Ten minutes later, everyone heard a loud roar coming from above. They looked up and gasped in awe to see a large dragon Pokemon descending. The weather had become quiet again. The sun was shining, but nowhere near as brightly as a little earlier.

"All right. Ash was successful," Wallace said.

"So that's Rayquaza. It looks awesome," Max said in awe.

"But where's Ash?" May asked.

Pikachu watched, as Rayquaza got lower. Several moments later, he saw Ash on Rayquaza's back. "Pikachu pika(There he is)," Pikachu said pointing upwards.

Several moments later, Brock, May and Max could see Ash on Rayquaza's back. Rayquaza soon landed outside the Pokemon Center and let Ash off. **"I'll try to settle them down," **he said.

"Good luck," Ash said before heading into the Pokemon Center to heal his Pokemon.

Then Rayquaza headed of to face off with Groudon and Kyogre. Ash came out of the Pokemon Center ten minutes later to see Rayquaza holding his own although he was outnumbered 2 to 1. Rayquaza launched a Hyper Beam at Groudon. Groudon had barely countered with Solarbeam. The two attacks did cancel out, but the explosion was very close to Groudon instead of in the middle because the Hyper Beam had driven through the Solarbeam somewhat before exploding. Groudon was sent flying into the water, but he was able to make it back to the piece of land jutting out.

"Hit that overgrown dragon with Fire Blast!" Maxie said.

Groudon unleashed the attack. Rayquaza easily flew above it before retaliating with Dragonbreath. Groudon ducked just in time, and the attack sailed over his head. Then Rayquaza fired a Hyper Beam at Kyogre. Kyogre dived underwater to avoid the attack before resurfacing; only to get hit as Rayquaza used Extremespeed against her. Again, she resurfaced pretty quickly.

"Use Ice Beam Kyogre. Let's get Rayquaza before Team Magma does," Archie said.

"I'll be the one getting Rayquaza. Use Fire Blast Groudon!" Maxie said.

Groudon got off his attack first. Rayquaza dodged the Fire Blast. But he had forgotten about the Ice Beam and was soon completely frozen. He fell out of the sky. Groudon had created a strip of land to prevent Rayquaza from falling into the water.

"Now Groudon, let's get that Rayquaza," Maxie said.

"Use Water Spout Kyogre!" Archie countered.

Kyogre complied and a large water cyclone knocked Groudon into the water.

"I'l be taking Rayquaza," Archie said.

"No you won't. I won't let you," Ash boldly said.

"And just how will you stop me?" Archie asked smirking.

"This is how," Ash responded before picking Zapdos's ball. "Zapdos, I choose you! We need to help Rayquaza," he added, throwing the balll.

Zapdos appeared in a flash of light. /I'm ready/ he said.

All except Brock, Wallace, May and Max did a double take upon seeing Zapdos. Then Ash released Sceptile.

"Zapdos, Kyogre is all yours. Sceptile and I will deal with Groudon," Ash said, knowing that Zapdos wouldn't really need him to tell it what to do. "Start off with Bullet Seed Sceptile."

Sceptile unleashed hundreds of seeds. Groudon countered with Solarbeam. The Solarbeam pierced through the seeds and headed straight for Ash and Sceptile. Sceptile quickly tackled Ash to the ground.

"Whoa, Groudon is pretty powerful. This is going to be our toughest battle yet," Ash said as Sceptile helped him up. Meanwhile, Zapdos faced off with Kyogre. Zapdos launched a Thunderbolt attack.

"Dive to avoid it Kyogre," Archie said.

Kyogre dove underwater and completely avoided the attack. She retaliated with Hydro Pump. Zapdos flew above the attack and retaliated with Drill Peck. Kyogre was knocked deeper underwater, but she quickly surfaced again. She and Archie saw Zapdos flying higher.

"Here's our chance to get another legendary Pokemon Kyogre. Hit it with Ice Beam while it doesn't see you!" Archie said.

Kyogre fired the Ice Beam. But Zapdos turned to see the oncoming attack and evaded it easily. Then he flew a little higher into the air before aiming a Thunder attack into the water. The electricity raced across the water and struck Kyogre dead center. Kyogre cried in pain as the very powerful attack tore through her body. With her last ounces of strength, Kyogre flipped onto her back before fainting.

"Nice work Zapdos. Can you help me over to where Rayquaza is?" Ash said.

Zapdos flew over and grabbed Ash's shoulders before flying up and gently depositing him next to Rayquaza. Zapdos flew back and helped Sceptile over as well. The ice was beginning to thaw, but at a very slow pace.

"Charizard, I need your help," Ash said, unleashing Charizard. "The ice is thawing too slowly. Use Flamethrower to help speed things up," he added.

Charizard nodded before useing Flamethrower to melt the ice trapping Rayquaza.

"Oh no you don't. Use Mud Shot Groudon," Maxie said.

"Counter it with Solarbeam Sceptile," Ash countered.

Groudon fired the Mud Shot at Charizard. Sceptile soon fired a Solarbeam. The Solarbeam redirected the Mud Shot and fired a Fire Blast at Sceptile. Sceptile quickly jumped out of the way. Meanwhile, Charizard had finished thawing Rayquaza out. Rayquaza had regained consciousness. He was so weak that he was only able to bring his head up about six inches. He saw Ash and Charizard looking at him, worry in their eyes.

"Are you all right?" Ash asked.

**"Other than feeling very cold and pretty weak, I'm fine. Thank you for helping me," ** Rayquaza responded.

"It's no problem. Do you know Rest?" Ash said.

**"Yes I do," **Rayquaza said.

"Then use Rest. Maybe that will help you regain your strength and negate the effects of the Ice Beam," Ash said.

**"All right," **Rayquaza said before before closing his eyes and going into a brief sleep.

"Now Groudon, use Thunder while it's still asleep," Maxie said.

Groudon fired a Thunder attack at the sleeping Rayquaza.

"Zapdos, counter Groudon's Thunder with your own," Ash said.

Zapdos fired his own Thunder attack at Groudon's Thunder. The two attacks cancelled each other out.

"Use Solarbeam again Sceptile," Ash said.

"Sceptile(You're going down)," Sceptile said before firing the Solarbeam.

Before Maxie or Groudon could counter, Charizard had fired a Dragonbreath attack. The two attacks merged into one. The now combined attack rocketed towards Groudon. Groudon had no chance to react as the attack hit him dead center. Groudon was knocked into the water again. It staggered back onto the piece of land jutting out of the water. Everyone could see that Groudon was starting to tire.

"It's starting to get tired," Brock said.

"Not only that, but Rayquaza is waking up," Ash said as Rayquaza stirred from its short rest. "How do you feel now?" Ash asked.

**"Good as new," ** Rayquaza responded. He charged up for a Hyper Beam. Several seconds later, he fired the Hyper Beam at Groudon.

The attack exploded upon impact with Groudon. When the smoke cleared, Groudon was down for the count as well.

"No, how could this have happened?" Maxie asked.

"All my hard work to expand the sea has failed," Archie said in disbelief. He retreated to the Team Aqua sub.

"I can't believe that a kid foiled my plans to expand the world's landmass," Maxie said before retreating to the Team Magma sub.

Suddenly, the blue and red orbs glowed before flying out of Maxie and Archie's hands before the hatches to the subs were closed. The red orb floated over Groudon, and the blue orb floated over Kyogre. The orbs glowed brighter and brighter until everyone had to shield his/her eyes from the blinding auras. Several minutes later, everyone heard loud shattering sounds. Then the auras began to die down. When the auras completely died down, everyone gasped in awe as Groudon and Kyogre stood/floated, completely healed and revitalized. Groudon and Kyogre looked toward each other, serene expressions on their faces. Then they looked at Rayquaza and bowed before him.

Then Kyogre dove under the water to return to her resting place. Then some land jutted out of the water. Groudon walked on the land to the shoreline before tunneling into the ground, heading deep into the earth. This time, he wasn't going to take any chances. He stopped near the earth's core; so deep, that both human and Pokemon would instantly fry. Even other ground-type Pokemon would have no chance of surviving in this kind of depth. Because Groudon is pretty strong, he had a heat resistance so great, that it would take all the ground Pokemon combined to be able to match his heat resistance level.

Then the jutted out land began sinking back into the water. Rayquaza flew into the air before the land he was on sank as well. At the same time he flew off the strip of land, Charizard flew over to just outside the Pokemon Center with Ash while Zapdos did the same with Sceptile. Rayquaza then hovered above and in front of Ash. The inhabitants of Sootopolis were still in intense awe upon everything that happened.

**"Groudon and Kyogre are at peace once again. The balance of nature has been restored," ** Rayquaza said, not seeing that the Team Aqua and Team Magma submarines had already retreated.

"And with the red and blue orbs destroyed, no one will be able to easily control them again," Ash added.

**"Yes, and that is how it should be," **Rayquaza said.

"So are you going back to Sky Pillar?" Max asked.

**"No," ** Rayquaza responded.

"Where will you go then?" Wallace asked.

Rayquaza looked at Ash.

"You want to come along with me?" Ash asked in awe and disbelief.

**"Yes I do. In a way, I owe you my life. If you hadn't intervened when you did, who knows what might've happened. Not only that, but you saved the world by helping to restore nature's balance," **Rayquaza responded.

"We were just helping a Pokemon in need," Ash said as Charizard, Sceptile and Zapdos confirmed to what he said.

**"But I still feel that I should thank you. And I can't think of a better way to thank you than becoming one of your Pokemon," **Rayquaza said, flying down closer to Ash.

"If that is what you want. Then so be it. Poke Ball go!" Ash said before throwing an empty ball.

Rayquaza didn't even put up a struggle when the ball captured him. The ball then came back to Ash's hands. Ash looked at the now occupied Poke Ball.

"Welcome to the team Rayquaza," Ash said before clipping the ball to his belt.

"Incredible," one of the residents said.

"You said it. I never even thought that I would be a witness to something like this," another resident agreed.

"Well done Ash. Not only did you save the world, but you also have another legendary Pokemon on your team," Wallace said.

"Thanks Wallace," Ash said.

"I heard that you are collecting badges. Since you're here, you might as well go for this gym's badge. I was once the gym leader. Now Juan is the gym leader. But expect a tough battle because he is no push over. He is almost as good I am," Wallace said.

"I'll do my best," Ash said. "But I'll wait a day first. I've had enough excitement for one day," he added.

"Sceptile scept(Amen to that)," Sceptile agreed.

"Pika(Yeah)," Pikachu said.

/I'm with him on that one/ Zapdos said.

(I am too) Charizard agreed. 

Ash returned to the rest of his Pokemon except for Pikachu before he and his friends went to the Pokemon Center to settle in for the day. This would definitely be a day to remember. Not only had the people in Sootopolis seen four legendary Pokemon, but two of the four were also in the possession of a cleary extraordinary trainer.

And that's a wrap on this chapter. As far as the speedboat turning into a sub thing, I thought that it would be cool to have that happen. Anyway, now Ash has the legendary Rayquaza as his sixth Pokemon. How many legendaries will I have Ash capture? Even I don't know for the time being. Moving right along, preview for Chapter 7: A Two in One Battle: Ash and his Pokemon go for a soothing flight before the battle for the Rain Badge. When the battle happens, a very familiar Pokemon crashes things. Will Ash and his Pokemon be able to win the gym match while having to fend Aerodactyl off? Stay tuned for the answer.

Well remember when I said that I was working as a Temporary Employee? I found out this past Thursday that I had been let go. After only one month, I am out of work again. So until I can find another line of work, I guess that updates could be a little more frequent. I'm still a bit disappointed about being let go because it's amazing how accustomed you can become to something after only a month, but that's what it means to be a Temporary Employee. You never know how long you'll be in work.


	7. A Two in One Battle

Recap: Ash and friends made a detour at Lilycove City so that May could enter the Pokemon Contest. The final battle was between her Combusken and a young girl's Absol. The Absol got off to a quick start, but Combusken came out on top as the victor, winning the contest for May. Then she and the others boarded a ferry to Mossdeep Island. A brutal storm had suddenly came in shortly into their journey. Not too long afterwards, the weather went totally awry. The wacky weather was due to Teams Aqua and Magma awakening Kyogre and Groudon. Ash went to Sky Pillar to get Rayquaza's help. But Rayquaza ended up falling victim to Kyogre's Ice Beam. Ash then intervened to prevent Team Magma and Team Aqua from taking Rayquaza. With Ash and his Pokemons' help, Rayquaza was able to end the battle between the Titan Pokemon.  
( ) after Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
/ is Zapdos talking  
**Bold words **is Rayquaza talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts

Chapter 7: A Two in One Battle

It had been quite a day for everyone in Sootopolis City. It was a routine day at first. Then the next thing that the people knew was that the weather went haywire. On top of that, Groudon and Kyogre, who were thought to be sleeping, had chosen to duke it out in Sootopolis. The battle between Groudon and Kyogre quickly got pretty intense. Their conflicting abilities caused the weather in Lilycove to go completely awry.

Wallace had run into Ash and friends. That is when Ash learned the reason behind the haywire weather, which was Groudon and Kyogre's awakening. Then he and his friends learned of the way to becalm the Titan Pokemon. Ash headed for Sky Pillar to get Rayquaza's help. Rayquaza agreed to help, giving Ash a ride to Sootopolis as well.

Rayquaza did pretty well at first. But Archie and Maxie's attention was now on him. He dodged a Fire Blast but couldn't dodge Kyogre's Ice Beam, which froze him solid. That's when Ash intervened, pitting Zapdos against Kyogre and Sceptile against Groudon. In a brilliant move, Zapdos quickly ended his fight with Kyogre by shooting electricity into the water.

Then the battle with Groudon got underway. Ash then brought out Charizard to thaw Rayquaza. Maxie had Groudon use Mud Shot in an attempt to stop Charizard, but Sceptile intervened with Solarbeam. Groudon's attention turned to Sceptile, allowing Charizard enough time to completely thaw Rayquaza out. Then Ash had Rayquaza use Rest.

The rest was short, but it helped Rayquaza immensely. He was able to end the back and forth battle by shooting a Hyper Beam at Groudon. Then the red and blue orbs healed Groudon and Kyogre before shattering into pieces, ensuring that no one could use them ever again. Then Kyogre had returned to her resting place. Groudon on the other hand had traveled to the center of the earth before he rested once again. But Rayquaza would not return to the Sky Pillar. Grateful for Ash's intervention, he became Ash's sixth Pokemon as a way of saying thanks.

Currently, Ash was speaking with Professor Oak. "Hi Professor," he said.

"Hello Ash. How have you been?" Professor Oak said.

"Things have been interesting these days," Ash said before explaining everything that had happened. He finished explaining several hours later.

"Wow! That's quite a bit for only a week and a half. It's very disturbing that Damien is stalking you. But it's good to know that your Pokemon are protecting you from him. I have to say though, catching two legendary Pokemon is an incredible feat," Professor Oak said.

"I know," Ash said.

"Oh, let me see your Pokedex for a moment," Professor Oak said.

"Okay," Ash said before transferring his Pokedex. He got it back a few moments later.

"I upgraded your Pokedex. It will allow you to carry as many Pokemon as you want," Professor Oak said.

"Thanks Professor. I'm going to be challenging Juan tomorrow and an extra grass Pokemon would help. Can you send Bulbasaur over?" Ash said.

"Can do," Professor Oak said before completing the transfer.

Ash picked up the Poke Ball.

"Well, I'll tell your mother hi for you," Professor Oak said.

"All right Professor. Bye," Ash said before hanging up.

"Bye," Professor Oak said before hanging up as well.

"Who would've thought that someone would actually try to kill Ash," Gary said.

"I know I wouldn't have. But Damien almost succeeded in doing just that," Professor Oak said.

"But things have gotten a lot tougher for Damien now. According to my research, Rayquaza is the most powerful of the legendary Pokemon," Gary said. "Damien's Pokemon would be down for the count before they even knew what hit them," he added smirking.

Meanwhile, Ash had released all his Pokemon just outside the Pokemon Center. Bulbasaura tackled Ash and started lickign his face.

"It's good to see you too Bulbasaur," Ash said laughing.

Bulbasaur allowed Ash to stand a few minutes later. Then he looked at Ash's Pokemon in awe, except Pikachu and Charizard, this being his first time seeing them. "Bulbasaur bulba(What's been going on)?" he then asked.

Charizard, Pikachu and Sceptile took turns telling Bulbasaur what has happened.

"Bulba(What)?" Bulbasaur exclaimed

**"There have been not only attempts on his life, but also a Pokemon that wants to eat him!"** Rayquaza also exclaimed, but in anger. **"This will not do. Ash doesn't deserve to go through trauma like this. I'll do all I can to help in the battle against Damien and Aerodactyl," **he added.

"Bulba saur(So will I)," Bulbasaur said.

Just then, a French-looking guy came by the Pokemon Center. He had just finished a gym battle, which he beat the trainer challenging him for the Rain Badge, and wanted to heal his Pokemon. He gasped in awe upon seeing Zapdos and Rayquaza together.

"I never thought that I would see Zapdos or Rayquaza, let alone seeing them together in one place," Juan said.

"Are you Juan?" Ash asked.

"That I am," Juan responded. "You must be an extraordinary trainer to have caught both of them," he added.

"I really don't think of myself that way. Besides, I helped them out when they desperately needed it and they became my Pokemon in gratitude for it," Ash said as Zapdos nodded.

**"We sure did," **Rayquaza said.

"Whoa he can talk," Juan said.

"Yes he can," Ash said.

"Wallace told me that you want to battle me tomorrow. Is that correct?" Juan said.

"Yes it is. After all the excitement today, I just wanted to rest for the rest of the day," Ash said.

"I had to postpone a match due to the weather frenzy. Wallace told me what had happened. That was probably a battle for the ages," Juan said.

"It sure was," Ash said as his Pokemon nodded.

Juan went into the Pokemon Center. He came back out about five minutes later. "Well I'll see you tomorrow," he said before heading home.

"This place is giving me a boxed in feeling. I would love to get out for a little while," Ash said.

**"Well then allow me to assist you," ** Rayquaza said.

Ash picked up Pikachu and got onto Rayquaza. Sceptile got on behind Ash. Charizard picked up Bulbasaur before he, Rayquaza, Swellow and Zapdos took to the sky. They flew out through the extinct volcano's mouth. They looked down and saw Pokemon frolicking in the water. The frolicking Pokemon looked up and gasped in awe upon seeing Zapdos and Rayquaza just cruising through the sky.

"Tentacool(Whoa)," one of the Tentacool said in awe.

"Pelipper(You said it)," a wild Pelipper said. It flew up to get a better look and saw a human and a Sceptile on Rayquaza's back. It flew back down. "Pelipper peli pelipper(Rayquaza has a trainer now)," Pelipper said.

"Tentacruel tenta. Tenta tent tentacruel(My goodness gracious. I never thought that I would see the day)," a Tentacruel said.

"Pelipper peli pelipper(Rayquaza seems to be very happy with the trainer)," Pelipper said.

"Hiya(Wow)," a Staryu said.

Meanwhile, Rayquaza and the others continued through the air. Ash was feeling a lot more comfortable now.

"This is much better. I wonder how the residents of Sootopolis got used to living inside a dead volcano," Ash said.

**"It probably took a good amount of time. Sootopolis is a pretty closed up city. I felt boxed in too," **Rayquaza said as the other Pokemon nodded.

About two hours later, Ash and the others returned to Sootopolis. Ash returned all his Pokemon except for Pikachu. Then he and Pikachu went inside the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy led him to a room where he could rest for the night. At about midnight, Ash and friends settled in for the night. But not all was well this night. A wily Pokemon was only hours away from Sootopolis City. It had taken Aerodactyl a while to blast out of the area of fallen trees. Once it did, it was desperate to get back on Ash's trail. Its desperation had eventually paid off.

('That fiery Pokemon is getting very annoying. I would've had that little human if not for him. This time, the result will be different') Aerodactyl thought. He would be somewhat right.

The next morning, Ash and friends had a quick breakfast. Half an hour later, they head to the gym. They found Juan waiting on one side of a large pool. There were floating platforms in the water for non-water Pokemon.

"Ah, you've arrived. Are you ready to battle for the Rain Badge?" Juan said.

"I sure am," Ash said.

"I'll choose first. You're up Whiscash!" Juan said, releasing Whiscash.

Whiscash belly flopped into the water. He quickly surfaced. "Whiscash(I'm ready)," he said.

"Let's do this Bulbasaur!" Ash said, throwing the ball.

"Bulba(I'm ready)," Bulbasaur said, landing on one of the floating platforms.

"Mud Shot Whiscash!" Juan said.

Whiscash shot a stream of mud from his mouth.

"Cut it down with Razor Leaf!" Ash said.

"Bulba(Right)," Bulbasaur said before firing off razor sharp leaves at the Mud Shot.

The leaves cut up most of the mud, but some of it made contact with Bulbasaur. Unfortunately, it was now in his eyes and now he couldn't see. He turned around wildly.

"Oh no, Bulbasaur's blind!" May said.

"Use Water Gun while it's disoriented!" Juan said.

Whiscash shot the stream of water at Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur couldn't see the attack coming at him.

"Bulbasaur do an about face. Let the Water Gun wash the mud out of your eyes," Ash said.

Bulbasaur turned around. The Water Gun came straight at Bulbasaur's face. The force of the Water Gun knocked him into the water. He surfaced and got back onto the platform. He turned towards Ash, showing Ash that the mud had been washed out.

"All right! Bulbasaur can see again," Max said.

"That was a great observation on Ash's part," Brock said.

"Belly Flop to create a wave!" Juan said.

"Use Vine Whip to jump over it!" Ash countered.

Bulbasaur used his vines as a springboard to catapult over the oncoming wave. Then he landed back on the platform.

"Let's finish this Bulbasaur. Use Solarbeam!" Ash said.

"Quick Whiscash, use Hydro Pump before it completely charges up!" Juan said.

Whiscash fired the Hydro Pump.

"You know what to do Bulbasaur," Ash said.

Bulbasaur used his Vine Whip to jump over the attack. He came down, ready to launch the Solarbeam.

"Fire away Bulbasaur!" Ash said.

"Bulbasaur(Here it goes)!" Bulbasaur said, firing the Solarbeam.

The beam rocketed for Whiscash. Juan knew that there was no chance for Whiscash to get out of the way since it wasn't very agile. The Solarbeam made contact with Whiscash.

"Whiscash(Aaaahhhh)!" Whiscash cried in pain as the Solarbeam hit. He fell back into the water. He slowly surfaced and floated over to one of the platforms before fainting.

"Whiscash is unable to battle. Bulbasaur is the winner!" the referee said.

"Whiscash return!" Juan said, returning his Pokemon. "Having Bulbasaur face the Water Gun to get the mud out of its eyes and having it to use its Vine Whip to help it jump over the wave and Hydro Pump was sheer brilliance. You're a pretty good trainer," he added.

"Thanks Juan," Ash said.

"My next Pokemon hasn't been beaten too many times so get ready. Kingdra go!" Juan said.

Kingdra soon appeared in the water. "Doo(Ready)!" Kingdra said.

'Clair had a pretty strong Kingdra. This one is probably just as strong if not stronger,' Ash thought. "Do you want to face Kingdra Bulbasaur?" he asked.

"Bulba, bulbasaur(Yes, I'll do my best)," Bulbasaur said nodding.

"Okay then. Start off with Razor Leaf!" Ash said.

Bulbasaur fired the leaves.

"Agility," Juan countered.

Kingdra quickly evaded the leaves with its agility.

"Now use Hyper Beam!" Juan said.

Kingdra quickly charged up and fired the Hyper Beam.

"Jump quick!" Ash said.

Bulbasaur used Vine Whip to jump over the Hyper Beam. 

"Now Kingdra, use Dragonbreath!" Juan said.

Kingdra aimed and fired the attack. Bulbasaur was wide open and had no way of evading this attack. The attack contact, and Bulbasaur landed hard on the platform. He staggered back up.

"I thought that a Pokemon needed to recharge after using Hyper Beam," Max said.

"It usually does. Juan trained Kingdra very well," Brock said.

"Can you continue Bulbasaur?" Ash asked.

Bulbasaur nodded.

"All right. Use..." Ash started to say when he heard a terrifying sound.

"What was that?" Juan asked. He looked up and saw a flying Pokemon heading towards the gym. He looked back at Ash and saw the most terrified expression on Ash's face. He immediately knew that this Pokemon must be going for Ash. "Kingdra, use Hydro Pump on that Pokemon!"

"Doo(Okay)!" Kingdra said before firing at Aerodactyl.

Aerodactyl evaded the attack. It swooped down and grabbed Ash before flying back up again.

"Ash/Bulba/Pikapi!" Brock, May, Max, Bulbasaur and Pikachu cried.

"There's nothing we can do," May said helplessly. She would fortunately be wrong.

Sensing that their trainer was in serious trouble and being able to feel that they were in the air, Charizard, Swellow, Rayquaza and Zapdos came out of their balls. Charizard growled upon seeing Ash's situation. He flew up and cut Aerodactyl off from the front. Aerodactyl fired off a Hyper Beam at Charizard, which Charizard easily countered with a Flamethrower attack. Aerodactyl then turned around to go the other way. Zapdos quickly blocked off Aerodactyl's path. Swellow and Rayquaza then completed the circle, now trapping Aerodactyl on all sides. Aerodactyl was panicking now. It knew that it didn't have much of a chance against Zapdos or Rayquaza.

Rayquaza took advantage of Aerodactyl's indecision. He prepared to fire a Hyper Beam at Aerodactyl's legs. Still panicky, Aerodactyl lifted Ash in the line of fire. Rayquaza powered down, not wanting to hit Ash. But Aerodactyl was so focused on Rayquaza that it never noticed Charizard coming up from behind. Charizard gently gripped Ash before biting Aerodactyl in the leg. Aerodactyl screeched in pain before letting go of Ash. Charizard then put distance between himself and Aerodactyl before readjusting his grip on Ash, now holding Ash Bridal style. Before Aerodactyl could recover, Swellow came in with Wing Attack. Then Charizard used Dragonbreath. Zapdos used Thunder, and Rayquaza used Dragon Rage. Aerodactyl fled before the attacks could strike it.

"Thanks guys," Ash said.

(No problem) Charizard said.

**"That is one persistent Pokemon isn't it?"** Rayquaza asked.

"You said it," Ash responded. "Let's head back down. I've got a battle to finish," he added.

Charizard flew down and landed near the pool before setting Ash down. Then Rayquaza, Zapdos and Swellow landed as well. Ash was about to return them.

**"Wait Ash. I think that we should remain out. Aerodactyl might come back," **Rayquaza said.

"He's got a point Ash," Brock said.

"All right then," Ash said.

"Are you ready to continue?" Juan asked.

"Yes I am," Ash responded. "Use Vine Whip Bulbasaur."

Bulbasaur lashed out his vines.

"Agility Kingdra!" Juan said.

Kindra easily maneuvered around the vines, getting closer to Bulbasaur as well. Soon, Kingdra was right in front of Bulbasaur.

"Now Kingdra, use Hyper Beam!" Juan said.

Kingdra complied. Bulbasaur was sent flying into the air. He sailed over Ash's head and kept going. He would've gone further if not for Charizard catching him. Charizard landed next to Ash and deposited Bulbasaur. It was clear to see that Bulbasaur was down for the count.

"Bulbasaur is no longer able to battle. The win goes to Kingdra," the referee said as Kingdra returned to Juan's side of the pool.

"You did your best Bulbasaur. Return," Ash said. "Your Kingdra is pretty fast. But I know how to counter it. Pikachu, it's your turn pal," he added.

"Pika(All right)," Pikachu said. He came onto the field and got onto one of the floating platforms. "Pika(Ready)," he said.

"Use Dragonbreath Kingdra!" Juan said.

"Doo(Take this)," Kingdra said, firing off the attack.

"Into the water Pikachu," Ash said.

Pikachu quickly dove into the water. The Dragonbreath hit where Pikachu stood only moments ago. Pikachu surfaced and swam to another platform since the one he stood on was now gone.

"Use Thunderbolt Pikachu!" Ash said.

"Pikachu(Here it goes)!" Pikachu said, unleashing the attack.

"Use Agility to get around it!" Juan said.

Kingdra used its agility to get around the electricity.

"Use your Agility too Pikachu," Ash said.

Pikachu then began speeding down the platforms. Kingdra began chasing Pikachu down. Pikachu then began jumping from one platform to chasing Pikachu down. Pikachu then began jumping from one platform to the other in various patterns to stay one step ahead of Kingdra. Every time Kingdra would close in, Pikachu would jump in a different pattern.

"Good job Pikachu," Ash said.

Kingdra eventually started to wear down from trying to catch Pikachu. On the flipside though, Pikachu was also starting to wear down. Both Pokemon stopped using Agility. Juan could see Kingdra sweating. Ash could hear Pikachu panting a little.

"Let's finish this Pikachu. Use Thunder!" Ash said.

"Quick Kingdra, use Hyper Beam!" Juan countered.

KIngdra got off the attack first, not only striking Pikachu, but also causing the platform to flip Pikachu into the water. But Pikachu was still able to give off his attack. Because Pikachu was completely underwater when he fired the attack, the attack's strength was greatly magnified. Kingdra screamed in pain as the magnified attack did some major damage to it. Several moments later, Kingdra was floating on its back, Xs in its eyes.

"Kingdra is unable to battle. Pikachu wins," the referee said.

"Great job Pikachu," Ash said as Pikachu surfaced.

"Pika(Thanks)," Pikachu said tiredly. He managed to get onto the platformed before he fainted as well.

"Pikachu is also unable to battle. It's a double knockout," the referee said as Swellow picked up Pikachu and brought him over to Brock.

"You're pretty impressive Ash. Now we're both down to one Pokemon each. But my last Pokemon has even given the Elite Four a run for their money. Let's go Milotic!" Juan said.

Milotic appeared in the water. May went starry eyed upon seeing it.

"That Milotic is even more beautiful than the one I saw at the contest in Slateport City," May said.

"It looks pretty strong too," Brock said.

"I wonder if Ash will used Zapdos against it," Max said.

"He won't. He knows that using Zapdos would be a very unfair advantage," Brock said.

"Sceptile, I choose you!" Ash said, releasing Sceptile.

"Sceptile(Let's get it on)," Sceptile said. He and Milotic squared each other up.

"Let's end this now Milotic. Use Ice Beam!" Juan said.

Milotic fired the super cold beam.

"Jump to the platform on the right Sceptile!" Ash said.

"Scept(Roger)," Sceptile said before jumping over to the platform.

The platform that Sceptile stood on seconds before was now a block of ice.

"Bullet Seed!" Ash said.

Sceptile fired hundreds of seeds from his mouth.

"Counter it with Twister!" Juan said.

Milotic unleashed a cyclone from its tail, which blew the seeds away.

"Wow! Milotic is pretty tough," Max said.

"That can mean big trouble for Ash. Unless he can get a hit on Milotic somehow, it can simply wear Sceptile down," Brock said.

"Use Blizzard Milotic!" Juan said.

Milotic launched a barrage of ice and snow towards Sceptile. Sceptile quickly dove into the water to evade the attack.

"We've got it now Milotic. Use Ice Beam to freeze the water!" Juan said.

Milotic complied. Soon, the pool was frozen over. Milotic had made sure to get on top of the ice so it wouldn't be trapped as well.

"Oh no! Sceptile's trapped!" May said in worry.

Brock looked at the frozen pool and saw the ice starting to crack near Milotic. "No he's not," he said.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Look over next to Milotic. The ice is cracking," Brock responded.

May and Max looked where Brock said and saw that the ice was cracking. Several minutes later, Sceptile came out through the crack, a Leaf Blade at the ready.

"Go ahead an use Leaf Blade Sceptile!" Ash said.

Sceptile struck Milotic with Leaf Blade. Milotic was sent reeling but recovered several minutes later.

"Use Twister again Milotic!" Juan said.

Milotic unleashed the attack towards Sceptile. Sceptile slid on the ice to evade the attack. Milotic unleashed another Twister attack only for the same result. Sceptile slid on the ice to avoid it.

"Two can play at ice skating right Milotic?" Juan asked.

Milotic gave a confirmation noise before also starting to slide a long the ice.

"Use Bind!" Juan said.

Milotic managed to catch up with Sceptile. Then it wrapped its long body around him before squeezing him.

"Sceptile can't move," Max said.

"Ash needs to think of something fast or else this battle is over," Brock said.

Ash could see that Sceptile was having trouble breathing now. "Sceptile, try to face Milotic," he said.

Sceptile struggled but was able to look Milotic in the eyes.

"Now use Bullet Seed!" Ash said.

Sceptile took a little breath before firing off the attack. Milotic screamed as the attack hit its face. Soon, it was forced to let go of Sceptile. Sceptile took several deep breaths, welcoming the oxygen back into his lungs.

"Use Leaf Blade while its disoriented!" Ash said.

Sceptile complied and Milotic slammed the frozen ground. The force of impact had actually caused the ice to break. Milotic sank into the water but came back to the surface a few minutes later. It was clear that Milotic was really wearing down. Sceptile was feeling a little worn down as well, but now as worn down as Milotic was.

"Let's try a different tactic Milotic. Combine Blizzard with Twister," Juan said.

Milotic unleashed the Twister attack. But Ash could see ice and snow mixed into the cyclonic attack. Sceptile did the best he could to evade the attack. But his lower arms ended up frozen. Sceptile flexed and was able to break the ice around his arms. Ash could see that Sceptile was wearing down more.

"We need to end this now Sceptile. Use Solarbeam!" Ash said.

"Counter with Ice Beam Milotic," Juan said.

Sceptile fired the Solarbeam from his mouth. Milotic then fired the Ice Beam from its tail. The two attacks met in the center, trying to get the better over the other.

"You can do it Sceptile," Ash said.

"Hang in there Milotic," Juan said.

Both Pokemon gave it their all. Finally, Milotic began to cave. The Solarbeam then started pushing the Ice Beam back. Upon reaching Milotic, the two attacks exploded. When the smoke cleared, Milotic was nowhere to be seen. Then a shadow appeared on the pool's surface. Milotic surfaced, swirls in its eyes.

"Milotic is no longer able to battle. Sceptile wins. Victory goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town," the referee said.

"All right. We did it Sceptile," Ash said.

"Sceptile(We sure did)," Sceptile said, giving Ash a thumbs' up before walking off the ice and standing next to Ash.

Juan returned Milotic. Charizard then used Flamethrower to thaw the frozen pool. Brock, May and Max then came out of the stands.

"That was great Ash," Brock said.

"Thanks Brock," Ash said.

Then Juan came over. "Well Ash, that was the greatest battle that I've ever fought. It will be a battle that I will always remember. Our Pokemon were going back and forth so much that there was no telling who would win until the very end," Juan said.

"Thanks Juan," Ash said.

"To commemorate your victory over me, I present the Rain Badge to you," Juan said, handing over the badge.

Ash took the badge from Juan. "All right," he said, holding the badge out.

"So I take it that you're going back to Mossdeep to get it's badge," Juan said.

"Yes I am, after I take my Pokemon to the Pokemon Center," Ash said before returning Sceptile and the rest of his Pokemon. Then he and his friends headed to the Pokemon Center.

Nurse Joy was tending to another Pokemon when they arrived so tey sat down to wait. Five minutes later, Nurse Joy came back out to the front.

"Oh Nurse Joy, do you want to have a candlelight dinner with me?" Brock asked, clearly in flirt mode.

"Knock it off Casanova," Max said, dragging Brock by the ear.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I would like to have my Pokemon healed please," Ash responded.

"All right," Nurse Joy said as Ash handed his Poke Balls and Pikachu over.

Ash got Charizard, Swellow, Rayquaza and Zapdos back in only a couple of minutes. He got Bulbasaur, Pikachu and Sceptile half an hour later. Then they left the Pokemon Center.

"Well how will we get to Mossdeep?" Max asked.

"I'll show you how," Ash responded before releasing Rayquaza. "Can you give us a ride to Mossdeep?" he asked.

**"Of course. Climb aboard," **Rayquaza responded.

Ash and friends got aboard Rayquaza.

**"Make sure that you have a good grip on me," **Rayquaza said before taking off into the sky.

"Do you need any directional help?" Max asked.

**"No, but thanks for the offer. I've been all over the Hoenn region many times," **Rayquaza responded.

No more words were spoken as Rayquaza cruised through the sky, heading for Mossdeep Island and Ash's final gym battle.

And that's a wrap on this chapter. Now Ash has his seventh badge and heading for his eighth. Preview for Chapter 8: Strategic Thinking: Ash and friends arrive in Mossdeep City. But things get off to a terrible start as Damien enters the picture once again. But Ash's Pokemon easily deal with him. After recovering from the brutal attack, Ash challenges Tate and Liza for the Mind Badge. The match proves to be a true battle of wits. Will Ash and the Pokemon he choose have the winning strategies? Stay tuned to find out.

Oh, and as far as Ash being able to carry as many Pokemon as he wishes, I really never liked the rule that a trainer could only carry six Pokemon. So I decided to let Ash carry as many as he wanted from now on. And this will prove to be a very beneficial factor in chapter 9 so it's a little heads up for you guys.


	8. Strategic Thinking

Recap: After an unforgettable battle between Groudon and Kyogre, Ash decided to wait a day before his big battle with Juan for the Rain Badge. Feeling a little boxed in, Ash and his Pokemon went for a nice cruise through the air. The next day it was battle on. The battle was heating up when Aerodactyl suddenly showed up. Juan tried to intervene, but Aerodactyl dodged his Kingdra's Hydro Pump and flew off with Ash anyway. But Ash's Pokemon wouldn't have it that way. They released themselves and drove Aerodactyl off. Then the badge battle continued. Ash and his Pokemon came out victorious. Now he and his friends are on their way to Mossdeep.  
( ) after Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
/ is Zapdos talking  
**Bold words** is Rayquaza talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts

Chapter 8: Strategic Thinking

Ash and friends were still on their way to Mossdeep Island. Ash was still mentally recovering from his intense battle with Juan. Aerodactyl had made an unexpected and very much unwelcome visit and almost made off with Ash in the middle of the battle. But Ash's Pokemon came through. After saving Ash from Aerodactyl, the battle continued, Ash coming out the victor.

An hour later, Ash and friends had reached Mossdeep Island. Rayquaza came down for a landing. The people out and about saw a huge shadow and looked up. They gasped in awe upon seeing the legendary Rayquaza. As Rayquaza got lower, they also saw four people and a Pikachu on his back. Soon, Rayquaza landed, and Ash and friends got off. Then everyone was amazed when Ash petted Rayquaza, also thanking it for the ride.

"You caught Rayquaza?" one of the inhabitants asked in awe.

"Yes," Ash responded.

"How did you do it?" another person asked.

Ash then explained how Rayquaza became one of his Pokemon.

"It looks like we have a hero in our midst," a third person said as the other people were chatting away.

Meanwhile, Tate and Liza were standing next to a window inside their gym. They saw a large grop of people gathered in one spot. They wondered what could possibly be going on.

"Should we see what's going on?" Liza asked.

"We might as well. We don't have anything else to do right now," Tate responded. He and Liza exited the gym to see what was going on.

They headed towards the large gathering of people. What they saw next stopped them in their tracks. Rayquaza had lifted up so that his head was now over the crowd, also allowing Tate and Liza to see him.

"It's Rayquaza," Liza said in awe.

"But what's he doing here?" Tate asked, in as much awe as his sister.

Then the crowd began to disperse. Tate and Liza saw four people still hanging around Rayquaza. They gasped in awe upon seeing the hat-wearing boy return Rayquaza. Then the boy and his friends went inside the Pokemon Center. Upon entering the Pokemon Center, Ash and friends got a very unpleasant surprise. Damien was there.

"Well, what a surprise," Damien said smirking.

"Not a very good one," Ash said dryly.

"Amen," Max said.

"Pika(Ditto)," Pikachu agreed.

Damien simply left. But he only left because he didn't want to cause a big scene in the Pokemon Center. He had been forced to keep a low profile because every Jenny in Hoenn knew about him and wanted to bring him in for attempted murder.

"May I help you young man?" a friendly voice asked.

Ash and friends turned around to see Nurse Joy now standing behind her desky. Brock suddenly had hearts for eyes.

Oh Nurse Joy, I think I have a fever," Brock said flirtingly.

"Okay Romeo, knock it off," Max said, dragging Brock by the ear.

"I would like to have my Pokemon checked please," Ash said, handing Nurse Joy the Poke Ball.

Nurse Joy then went inside her operating romm to check on the Pokemon's status. Then two things happened. One, she nearly had a heart attack. Two, she nearly fainted. The Pokemon was none other than the legendary Rayquaza. She went on with the procedure, shaking and all. Ten minutes, later, she came back out, a zoned out expression on her face.

"I'm sorry Nurse Joy. I should've told you that it was Rayquaza that I wanted you to check," Ash said upon seeing Nurse Joy's expression.

"Oh th-that's o-okay. R-Rayquaza is doing just f-fine. I-I really d-didn't have to do a-anything," Nurse Joy said. She regained her composure a few minutes later though. "But how did you acquire such a legendary Pokemon though?" she asked.

Ash then told her the story. Then he showed her Zapdos. Seeing Rayquaza almost caused Nurse Joy to faint. Seeing that Ash had a Zapdos as well, Nurse Joy did faint.

"Is she going to be okay?" May asked in concern.

"She'll be fine. She just fainted that's all," Max responded.

"I guess that this was too much for her," Ash said. "I'm going for a walk," he then said.

"Be careful. Damien might still be lurking around," Brock said.

"I'll be careful. If Damien does try anything, I have my Pokemon to help me," Ash said.

"Pikachu(That's right)," Pikachu said.

Then Ash headed out of the Pokemon Center and went for a walk. Brock was indeed right. Damien hadn't gone too far at all. He was hoping that Ash would be alone.

'That Pikachu of his might pose a problem. Its hearing is way too good,' Damien thought as he silently followed Ash.

An hour later, Ash had wandered into an unpopulated area of the island. "This area kind of resembles a Ghost Town doesn't it Pikachu?" he asked.

"Pika. Pikachu(Yeah. It gives me the creeps)," Pikachu said.

Damien smirked at his good luck. 'Now I can get rid of him without causing a scene. I can then make off with not only Charizard, but his Zapdos too,' he thought before unleashing his Scyther. "Use Fury Swipes," he said quietly, pointing at Ash.

Scyther nodded and quickly went on the offensive. Pikachu suddenly fell from his perch, which was Ash's shoulder. He slowly got up and shook his head to clear it. He was then aware of someone crying in pain. He stood in attention upon realizing who was screaming.

"Pikapi(Ash)!" Pikachu cried. He looked towards the direction of the painful cries and saw a Scyther slashing Ash repeatedly. He narrowed his eyes, his cheeks sparking. "Pikachu(Leave him alone)!" he shouted, unleashing a devastating Thunder attack.

Scyther screamed in pain. The attack proved too much and it soon fainted from the powerful attack. Damien then reveals himself as Ash crumples to the ground. Pikachu rushes to his fallen friend's side. Damien then gives Scyther a Max Revive. Scyther soon stands up, completely revitalized. Before Damien could give another order, Ash's Pokemon released themselves from their Poke Balls. They sensed that their friend/trainer was in serious trouble and were now more than ready to help. Upon looking at Ash, there was mixed reactions. Swellow, Sceptile, Bulbasaur, Zapdos and Rayquaza gasped in horror.

Charizard on the other hand was absolutely furious. He roared with intense fury. (Get it through your thick skull Damien. I'll never be your Pokemon again. Now I'll make you pay for what you did to my best friend) he said.

Damien and Scyther were very nervous and scared because they could sense just how angry Charizard was. Even Swellow, Pikachu, Sceptile, Rayquaza, Bulbasaur, Zapdos and Ash were afraid. Charizard roared again, his body suddenly glowing an eerie red. Ash just gasped in awe, knowing the attack that Charizard was getting ready to do. He then felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Charizard's anger is causing him to overheat," Ash said before losing consciousness altogether.

Charizard then unleashed a stream of super hot flames towards Scyther. The attack came at Scyther so fast that it didn't have time to react. It screamed in pain as the powerful fire attack burned every inch of its body. It soon fainted again, seriously burned. Damien was still in shock upon seeing Rayquaza. He was able to return Scyther though. Not thinking, he released Jynx to battle Rayquaza. But Charizard was still very angry. He used Overheat on Jynx before she could even make a move. She fainted instantly. Then Rayquaza fired a Hyper Beam at Damien and Jynx, sending both of them flying.

Then Charizard's anger died down. He looked over and saw Ash unconscious. He went over to Ash before squatting down and gently scooping Ash up. Then he stood up and spread his wings before flying off, heading for the Pokemon Center. Rayquaza, Swellow, and Zapdos quickly followed, Sceptile and Bulbasaur on Rayquaza's back and Pikachu on Swellow's back. They made it to the Pokemon Center about twenty minutes later. Everyone except Rayquaza went in. Nurse Joy, Brock, May and Max were waiting for their return. They gasped in horror upon seeing Ash's condition.

"What do you think happened?" Nurse Joy asked.

"Damien," Brock, May and Max responded angrily.

Nurse Joy actually shrunk back a little. She had never heard so much anger behind one word before. "What has this person done to make you so angry?" she asked.

Brock then told her everything. After hearing the story, Nurse Joy soon had a very angry expression on her face as well. She couldn't believe that Damien would want to kill Ash just to get back a Pokemon that doesn't even want to be with him anymore.

"I'll be sure to alert the other Nurse Joys about this," Nurse Joy said.

"But we need to get your friend into Intensive Care. Follow me Charizard," she added.

Charizard nodded and followed Nurse Joy into the ICU. Upon entering, he put Ash into an empty bed before leaving to go to the waiting area. He found his fellow Pokemon, May and Max already there. (Where's Brock?) he asked.

"Bulbasaur bulb bulba(He's outside talking with Rayquaza)," Bulbasaur responded.

(Oh) Charizard said before sitting down next to Pikachu. He saw the distraught look on Pikachu's face. (Don't worry. Ash is a fighter. He'll pull through) he said, pulling Pikachu into his lap.

"Pikachu(I hope so)," Pikachu said.

Outside the Pokemon Center, Brock and Rayquaza were still talking. Rayquaza had told Brock what happened.

"Wow, that's really something. Charizard learned Dragonbreath and Twister pretty quickly during the battle with Winona's Altaria. But you say that he was so angry upon seeing what Damien's Scyther had done to Ash that he learned Overheat in his anger," Brock said.

**"Yes. But he's terrifying when he's angry. I don't think that even I had ever gotten that angry before. I don't get scared easily, but seeing how angry Charizard was at that particular time would scare anyone,"** Rayquaza said.

Brock found himself laughing a little at that. "It always was a monumental mistake to make Charizard angry," he said. He then saw a male and female heading towards the Center. As the figures got closer, he could see that they were twins probably in their teens. "May we know who you are?" he asked.

"I'm Liza, and this is my brother Tate. We're the Mossdeep City gym leaders. My Lunatone happened to pass by and saw your friend's condition. It told us what it saw and we decided to stop by and see how your friend's doing," the female said.

Brock nodded. He had taken Rayquaza's ball off of Ash's belt and returned Rayquaza. Then he, Tate and Liza went inside the Pokemon Center. They went into the waiting area where Ash's other Pokemon, May and Max hoped for promising news. Liza and Tate gasped upon seeing Zapdos.

"Does this Zapdo belong to your injured friend as well?" Tate asked.

"Yes he does?" Max responded.

A couple of hours later, Nurse Joy came back into the waiting room. "Your friend is in stable condition. He should recover in a few days," she said.

"That's a major relief. I feared the worst when I saw all those injuries to his body," May said in major relief.

(See, he's going to be just fine) Charizard told Pikachu.

"Pika pi(Thank Ho-oh)," Pikachu said.

Sure enough, Ash had fully recovered a few days later. The injuries that Damien's Scyther inflicted on his were all healed up. Nurse Joy had applied an ointment that prevented scarring on Ash's body every time she changed his bandages. The only scar he had was the long scar going down his back from the attack on him in Foretree City.

"We'll be waiting for you at the gym," Liza said.

"Bye for now," Tate added.

"Bye," Ash and friends said as Tate and Liza left.

"So Ash, which Pokemon are you going to use?" Max asked when Liza and Tate were out of hearing range.

"We'll I'm definitely going to use Sceptile. Because Lunatone and Solrock can float, I'm going to have to use a Flying type to balance. Charizard will do," Ash responded before facing the two-said Pokemon. "Are you two ready to battle?" he added.

"Sceptile(Oh yeah)!" Sceptile said, pumping his fist into the air.

(I'm always ready) Charizard added.

Everyone then enjoyed breakfast in the Pokemon Center before Ash returned his Pokemon and set out to the gym, his friends following. The gym doors were already open. Upon Ash and friends entering, the doors closed. They saw that a Kadabra was the reason behind the doors suddenly closing. They then looked around to see that the ceiling was created to look like outer space. Ash landed Pikachu to Brock before Brock, May and Max headed into the stands. Tate and Liza were on one sideof the battlefield. Ash then took the other.

"So are you read to try for the Mind Badge?" Tate asked.

"I sure am," Ash responded.

"Well you'll have to get through Lunatone," Liza started, unleashing her Pokemon.

"And Solrock," Tate added, unleashing his Pokemon.

"Well, we'll do our best. Won't we Charizard and Sceptile?" Ash said, throwing both balls to releas the said Pokemon.

"Sceptile tile(This battle is ours)," Sceptile said.

(It's going to be tough but we'll win) Charizard added.

"Use Solarbeam Solrock," Tate said. 

Solrock quickly charged up and fired the Solarbeam.

"Counter that Solarbeam with your own Sceptile," Ash said.

Sceptile complied, and the two Solarbeam attacks cancelled each other out.

"Psybeam Lunatone!" Liza said.

"You too Solrock!" Tate added.

The two Pokemon unleashed their attacks. But the positioning was off. Lunatone and Solrock's attacks were headed right toward each other and soon cancelled each other out.

"Whoops. Lunatone was a little out of position on that one," Liza said.

"That's okay. But we won't make that mistake again," Tate said.

"Right," Liza said.

The smoke soon cleared to reveal that Charizard and Sceptile were no longer on the ground.

"Where did they go?" May asked.

A roar answered her question. She looked up to see Charizard in the air, Sceptile on his back. In the smoke screen, Sceptile and Charizard had decided to take the battle airborne. Sceptile had gotten onto Charizard's back, and Charizard flew up.

"Use Flamethrower Solrock!" Tate said.

"Solrock(Okay)!" Solrock said, firing off the attack.

Charizard simply countered with his own Flamethrower. The attacks cancelled out.

"Use Bullet Seed Sceptile!" Ash said.

Sceptile unleashed hundreds of seeds.

"Quick Lunatone! Use Light Screen!" Liza said.

"Lun(All right)!" Lunatone said before putting up a Light Screen in front of it and Solrock.

The Bullet Seed bounced off the Light Screen.

"This battle is even so far. Neither can get an advantage over the other," May said.

"Yeah, we'll see how it turns out," Brock said.

"Use Ancient Power Solrock!" Tate said.

"You too Lunatone!" Liza added.

Solrock and Lunatone unleashed a barrage of rocks at Charizard and Sceptile.

(Hang on. This might get rough) Charizard advised.

Sceptile obliged and Charizard began avoiding the rocks. He and Sceptile had some close calls with some of them, but they were able to dodge all of them.

"Sceptile (Nice flying)," Sceptile said.

(Thanks. I've had a lot of practice when I was in the Charicific Valley) Charizard said.

"Nice evading Charizard!" Ash said.

"Wow. I never thought that Charizard was that good at dodging," Max said in awe.

"Well that's probably where his training in Charicific Valley comes in. He battled with other Charizard that were at first a lot stronger than him," Brock said.

"Whoa, the Charizard there must be some of the strongest ever," May said.

"They are. They're also the biggest that I've ever seen," Brock said before turning his attention back to the battle.

Charizard had flown up to avoid a Flamethrower/Psybeam combo. Lunatone was in the right position this time, resulting in the Flamethrower combining with the Psybeam instead of canceling it out.

"Use Dragonbreath Charizard!" Ash said.

Charizard quickly gave off the attack before Lunatone or Liza could react. Lunatone took a direct hit. Tate and Solrock were distracted for a brief moment, giving Sceptile the opportunity to strike. He gave Solrock a Bullet Seed attack.

"Lunatone, immobilize them with Psychic!" Liza said.

Lunaton's eyes glowed blue. Charizard suddenly felt paralyzed. He tried to move but couldn't. But there was something that Lunatone, Solrock, Tate and Liza failed to realize.

"Oh no, Charizard's stuck!" May said.

"They're wide open now," Max said worriedl

But Brock noticed something that Liza, Tate and their Pokemon didn't. Sceptile was still able to move. He figured that Sceptile caught on and tried to be as still as possible to have its opponents thnk that it was paralyzed as well. "Not exactly," he said.

"Pika(Huh)?" Pikachu asked.

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"Look at Sceptile," Brock responded quietly.

May, Max and Pikachu did so and saw that there wasn't an aura around Sceptile.

"Sceptile is still free," Max said quietly, not wanting Liza to realize her mistake.

Ash had also seen that Lunatone hadn't used Psychic on Sceptile. 'Lunatone must've thought that immobilize them meant only Charizard. Well Sceptile and I will have to exploit that mistake,' he thought.

"Use Fire Spin on Sceptile," Tate said, thinking that Sceptile was paralyzed too.

"Hit Lunatone with Solarbeam!" Ash said.

Liza and Tate were confused.

"How can Sceptile attack? He's paralyzed," Liza said. She soon got her answer.

Sceptile had no trouble firing a Solarbeam. The attack hit Lunatone directly. Lunatone cried in pain, releasing its psychic grip on Charizard. Charizard then flew up with only seconds to spare. The Fire Spin passed harmlessly underneath.

(Thanks) Charizard said.

"Scept, sceptile(Hey, no problem)," Sceptile said.

"Quick, use Dragon Rage!" Ash said.

Charizard unleashed the attack straight at Solrock.

"Counter it with Flamethrower!" Tate said.

Solrock fired off the Flamethrower, but the Dragon Rage attack went right through it. Solrock suffered a direct hit from the powerful dragon attack, crying in pain. Solrock fell hard to the ground, kicking up dust. When the dust cleared, the referee saw swirls in Solrock's eyes.

"Solrock is unable to battle," the referee said.

"Whoa! Solrock's Flamethrower was no match for Charizard's Dragon Rage," Max said.

"Yeah, now it's only Lunatone. But the battle is not over yet. Lunatone could still win," Brock said.

"Lunatone only used Psychic on Charizard. We failed to notice that Sceptile was free," Tate said, returning Solrock.

"A serious oversight on our part right Lunatone?" Liza asked.

"Lun(Yes)," Lunatone responded.

"Let's try to even up the playing field Lunatone. Use Psychic on Sceptile," Liza said.

Lunatone obliged and lifted Sceptile into the air. Sceptile was totally helpless.

"Now slam it to the ground!" Liza said.

Sceptile felt himself dropping pretty fast. He knew that if he were to hit the ground, he would be close to being knocked out, if not knocked out upon impact with the ground. But Charizard had something else in mind. Sceptile suddenly felt his free fall stop. He looked down to see himself on Charizard's back.

"Wow! Charizard is trying to keep Sceptile from being slammed to the ground," May said.

"Yes, but how long can he keep it up?" Brock asked.

Charizard was struggling to keep Sceptile from slamming to the ground. ('Let's see if Lunatone cand o two things at once') he thought before firing a Dragonbreath attack.

"Hurry Lunatone, put up a Light Screen!" Liza said.

Lunatone dropped the Psychic attack and quickly put up a Light Screen. The Dragonbreath made contact with the Light Screen, completely shattering it.

"Scept(Thanks)," Sceptile said.

(No problem) Charizard said.

"Nice thinking Charizard!" Ash said.

Charizard looked down and gave Ash a thumbs' up.

"That was great thinking on Charizard's part," May said.

"Pika(Yeah)," Pikachu said nodding.

"Yes, forcing Lunatone to defend itself was a brilliant move," Brock agreed.

"Not only that, but it also seems that Lunatone is getting tired," Max said.

Brock saw Lunatone bouncing in the air a little; a clear sign that it was indeed starting to get tired. "I think you're right. Charizard and Sceptile have it just about where they want it right now," he said.

"Lunatone use Tackle. Try to knock Charizard out of the air," Liza said.

Lunatone came toward Charizard.

"Wait for it guys," Ash said.

Knowing that Ash had an idea, Charizard waited for Lunatone to come.

"What does Ash have in mind?" May asked.

"We'll find out," Brock responded.

Lunatone was about a foot away from Charizard now.

"Now Sceptile! Use Leaf Blade!" Ash said.

The leaves on Sceptile's wrists became a glowing blade. Sceptile reared his arms back before striking. Lunatone had no way of stopping in time and charged right into Sceptile's attack. Lunatone went reeling backwards. Sceptile quickly followed up with Solarbeam while Lunatone was disoriented. Lunatone had virtually looked done in at this point. It was barely able to keep itself floating.

"That was brilliant!" Max said.

"Yeah. Because Lunatone was committed to the Tackle, it had no way of dodging a sudden attack," Brock said.

"Now Charizard, finish it off with Dragon Rage!" Ash said.

Charizard complied.

"Try to Teleport Lunatone!" Liza said desperately.

But Lunatone was too weakened from the Leaf Blade and Solarbem attacks. It took the Dragon Rage attack directly.

"Lun(Aaaaahhhhh)!" Lunatone cried in pain. It soon fell to the ground, swirls in its eyes.

"Lunatone!" Liza cried uponseeing her fainted Pokemon.

"Lunatone is also unable to battle. Charizard and Sceptile win," the referee said.

"All right!" Ash said, pumping his fist into the air.

Charizard landed beside him before Sceptile dismounted.

"You guys were awesome," Ash said, hugging each of them.

"Pikapi, pikachu(Ash, congratulations)," Pikachu said, jumpin onto his shoulder. He had left the stand the moment after Charizard and Sceptile were declared the winners.

Ash scratched Pikachu under the chin, earning a happy "Chaaa" out of Pikachu. Tate and Liza had then come over to him.

"That was an awesome battle Ash," Liza said.

"And we humbly present the Mind Badge to you. You and your Pokemon really earned it today. Your Charizard is pretty smart. Forcing Lunatone to drop its Psychic on Sceptile was sheer brilliance," Tate said, holding out the badge.

"Sceptile is pretty smart too. Even though it wasn't included in the first Psychic attack, pretending that it was really fooled us. And having Sceptile use Leaf Blade while Lunatone was in the middle of a Tackle attack was even smarter," Liza added.

"Thanks," Ash said, proudly accepting the Mind Badge.

"Well now you qualify for the Pokemon League since you already have Sootopolis City's badge," Tate said.

"Good luck on Victory Road. You'll meet some very tough trainers as you go. If you make it to the end, the Elite Four await you," Liza said.

"If anyone can give the trainers of Victory Road and the Elite Four a good challenge, it's you," Tate said.

"Thanks," Ash said before returning Charizard and Sceptile. Then he and his friends left the gym.

They headed for the Pokemon Center where Ash had Sceptile and Charizard healed. Ash got his Pokemon back half an hour later. Then he realeased Rayquaza from its ball.  
**  
"Where to?"** Rayquaza asked.

"Evergrande City please," Ash responded before he and his friends climbed aboard.

Then Rayquaza took to the skies, heading for Evergrande City, and the Pokemon League. Unknown to them, a Pokemon very familiar with Ash and Pikachu was silently following them. She didn't want them to see her just yet so she was flying invisibly. She was just out flying when she spotted them. She was absolutely thrilled upon seeing Ash again. After hearing that Ash was in the Hoenn region, she looked all over for him. She was just about to give up when she suddenly spotted him on Rayquaza's back. She couldn't help being in intense awe upon seeing the majestic dragon as she followed him.

And that's a wrap on this chapter. I believe that it's safe to assume that you know the Pokemon I'm talking about. Will she become one of Ash's Pokemon? The answer will come in chapter 10, which will also be the last chapter of the story. Don't worry though. I plan to do a sequel to this story. Moving right along, preview for Chapter 9: Road to the Elite Four: Ash and friends prepare to travel down Victory Road. Before they can even get started, Aerodactyl shows it's ugly face again. But Ash's Pokemon are able to drive it off. Then the challenge of Victory Road begins. Ash finds himself battling against some indeed very tough trainers. The tough battles prove very beneficial to his Pokemon. How does it prove to be beneficial? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.


	9. Road to the Elite Four

Recap: After winning the Rain Badge in Sootopolis City, Rayquaza took Ash and friends to Mossdeep City. But not long afterwards, Ash fell victim to Damien's Scyther again. Ash's remaining Pokemon then came out of their Poke Balls. One look at the injured trainer caused Charizard to go berserk with rage. He was so infuriated, that he learned Overheat in his anger. He and Rayquaza sent Damien blasting through the air. Several days later, Ash had recovered, and was ready to face Tate and Liza. In a thrilling battle of wits, Ash came out the victor.  
( ) following Pokemon talk is the translation  
( ) alone is Charizard talking  
**Bold words **is Rayquaza talking  
(' is Pokemon thoughts  
' is human thoughts

Chapter 9: Road to the Elite Four

Ash and friends are on their way to Evergrande City after Ash received his eighth and final badge from Mossdeep City. It was a two-on-two battle of wits, Lunatone and Solrock vs. Sceptile and Charizard. Lunatone and Solrock worked well together, but the teamwork of Sceptile and Charizard proved to be stronger.

"I'll always remember that battle Ash. That was probably the greatest battle I've ever seen so far," Max said.

"That was definitely one of the best that I have seen," Brock said.

"Thanks guys," Ash said.

('I wish I would've been able to watch the battle') Latias thought as she continued following them.

About an hour later, Ash and friends could see a Pokemon Center next to the entrance of a cave. They could also see a huge waterfall.

"Is this Evergrande City?" Ash asked.

**"Although it doesn't look like much, yes it is. As you can see, flying is the easiest way here. Otherwise you'll have to climb the waterfall with a Pokemon who knows Waterfall. Most of the city is just past the exit of Victory Road," **Rayquaza said.

"That's one big waterfall," May said.

"Pika (You said it)," Pikachu said.

"Is Victory Road through that cave?" Ash asked.

**"It sure is," **Rayquaza responded before landing just outside the Pokemon Center.

Ash and friends got off before Ash returned Rayquaza. Then they went inside the Pokemon Center. Brock went into flirt mode the second he laid eyes on Nurse Joy, but Max broke it up.

"May I help you?" Nurse Joy asked.

"I'd like to have my Pokemon checked please," Ash said, handing over Rayquaza's ball.

Nurse Joy performed the checkup. She was awestruck upon seeing that the Pokemon was the legendary Rayquaza, but it didn't catch her off guard like the Nurse Joy in Mossdeep. That was because the Nurse Joy in Mossdeep told the Nurse Joys in the Hoenn about Ash having Rayquaza as well as Zapdos. Nurse Joy came out five minutes later.

"I can see why legendary Pokemon are legendary. Rayquaza has quite a bit of endurance because he's just fine," Nurse Joy said.

"Great," Ash said, taking the Poke Ball back from Nurse Joy. He then went over to the videophone. He then dialed Professor Oak's number. "Hi Professor," he said upon seeing Professor Oak's face on the screen.

"Hello Ash. How have things been going?" Professor Oak said.

"Well I'm at Evergrande City," Ash said.

"Oh! So you have a chance of facing the Elite Four," Professor Oak said.

"Yes I do. Can you send over Bayleef, Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Phanpy? I would love for them to get some more battle experience," Ash said.

"All right," Professor Oak said.

Several minutes later, the transfer was complete.

"Thanks Professor," Ash said.

"You're welcome. Good luck," Professor Oak said.

"Thanks," Ash said before hanging up. Then he released his transferred Pokemon. "Oooof!" he said seconds later upon being slammed to the ground gently. "It's good to see you too Bayleef," he added.

"Bay (Yay)!" Bayleef said. She helped Ash up a few minuts later.

"Wow," May said upon seeing the Pokemon Ash caught or acquired in Phanpy's case in the Johto region.

"Come with me. There's some other Pokemon that I would like you to meet," Ash said before heading outside, his Pokemon following. Once outside, he let out his other Pokemon.

Bayleef, Totodile, Cyndaquil and Phanpy gasped in awe upon seeing Sceptile, Swellow, Rayquaza and Zapdos. Then the Pokemon introduced themselves to each other. Cyndaquil was awestruck upon seeing Charizard. He walked over and nuzzled Charizard's leg.

"It looks like you have a fan Charizard," Ash said smiling.

(It appears I do) Charizard said.

An hour later, Ash returned his Pokemon except for Pikachu. Then he and his friends prepared to enter the cave. Before they could enter the cave though, a familiar screech reached their ears.

"Will Aerodactyl just give up?" Ash asked before releasing Charizard again.

Charizard saw Aerodactyl coming and stood protectively in front of Ash. ('This ugly bird is getting to be a real pain in the neck') he thought.

Aerodactyl was upon them several minutes later. It circled around them. Charizard made sure to keep his eye on Aerodactyl, knowing that letting his guard down for an instant could give Aerodactyl the advantage. Aerodactyl came from behind Ash.

(Oh no you don't!) Charizard said before firing a Dragonbreath attack.

Pikachu chipped in as well with a well-placed Thunderbolt. The attacks hit home, sending Aerodactyl flying for a few moments. But Aerodactyl was able to recover from the dual attack and came back again. It then fired off an Air Cutter attack. Charizard quickly tackled Ash to the ground. He felt the brief gusts of wind as the attack literally blew past. When he no longer felt any wind, he stood back up and helped Ash up. Charizard and Pikachu were about to get some help battling Aerodactyl. Sensing that something was off, Sceptile, Bulbasaur and Bayleef released themselves from their Poke Balls.

"Bay bay bay (Let's Razor Leaf it)," Bayleef said.

"Scept (Let's do it)," Sceptile said.

"Bulbasaur (You know Razor Leaf)?" Bulbasaur asked in shock.

"Scept. Sceptile scept tile sceptile scept tile (Yes. I learned it from watching and working with Brock's Lombre when I was a Grovyle)," Sceptile responded.

Then Bayleef, Bulbasaur and Sceptile fired a barrage of razor sharp leaves at Aerodactyl.

"Bay bay bay bay (Leave Ash alone you ugmo)," Bayleef said as she fired her attack.

Aerodactyl used Air Cutter on the volley of leaves coming at it. The Air Cutter took out a portion of the leaves. But a good number of leaves were still coming. The remaining leaves struck Aerodactyl, striking every inch of its body. Aerodactyl fell from the sky but was somehow able to recover.

By this point, Charizard, Sceptile, Bayleef, Bulbasaur and Pikachu have formed a circle around Ash. That way, Aerodactyl had a very small chance of being able to attempt anything sneaky. Then Rayquaza immerged from his Poke Ball. He circled his body around the Pokemon circle; further dimming Aerodactyl's chances of doing something sneaky.

**"You just don't learn do you? Leave us alone!" **Rayquaza said.

Then Zapdos immerged from his Poke Ball. He flew up to face off against Aerodactyl. /Yeah, stop bothering us/

Aerodactyl fired a Hyper Beam at Zapdos. Zapdos easily dodged the Hyper Beam. He then retaliated with Zap Cannon. The attack came too fast for Aerodactyl to be able to dodge. Aerodactyl cried in pain upon feeling the powerful attack. It was seriously weakened and fled with its remaining strength.

"Goodbye and good riddance," Ash said.

"Pika (Amen)," Pikachu said.

"Bay (Yeah)," Bayleef agreed.

"Thank you, all of you," Ash said.

"Sceptile (Don't mention it)," Sceptile said.

Ash then returned his Pokemon. He went back inside the Pokemon Center. He wanted his Pokemon to be at full steam. He got his Pokemon back ten minutes later and was ready to travel down Victory Road. He and his friends then entered the cave. It was dark, but not enough to hinder them. Only a few minutes later, Ash confronted a trainer.

"My name is Jacob. I have heard of you Ash. Congratulations on making it this far," the trainer said.

"Thank you," Ash said.

"Now the other trainers here and I will see just how far you can go. This will be a one-on-one battle. Go Hariyama!" Jacob said.

"Let's go Bayleef," Ash said, releasing his Pokemon.

"Bay (Ready)," Bayleef said.

"Use Arm Thrust Hariyama," Jacob said.

Hariyama came at Bayleef, ready to pound her senseless.

"Use Vine Whip to keep it at bay," Ash said.

Bayleef nodded and lashed out her vines. She made contact with Hariyama, but Hariyama was able to stay upright.

"It will take more than that. Vital Throw!" Jacob said.

Hariyama was able to pick up Bayleef. It lifted her over its head, ready to slam her into the ground.

"Hurry! Use Sweet Scent!" Ash said.

Bayleef gave off a pleasant smell. Hariyama was disoriented, giving Bayleef time to use Razor Leaf. Hariyama was forced to put Bayleef down. Bayleef then put distance between herself and Hariyama again.

"Use Rock Smash!" Jacob said.

Hariyama pounded the ground with its fist. A barage of rocks came hurtling towards Bayleef.

"Not all of them will hit you. Use Vine Whips on the ones that come towards you," Ash said.

Bayleef nodded. Through a lot of concentration, she was able to keep the rocks that came at her from striking her.

"Impressive," Jacob said. "Let's finish this with Seismic Toss," he added.

Hariyama charged towards Bayleef.

"Use Vine Whip to jump. Then use Body Slam," Ash countered.

Bayleef used her vines to jump over the charging Hariyama. Hariyama paused, looking up at Bayleef. Bayleef then came down for the Body Slam. Hariyama couldn't get out of the way and was soon pinned under Bayleef. Hariyama soon fainteed and Bayleef got off it.

"Well done Bayleef," Ash said.

"Bay (Thanks)," Bayleef said.

"Hariyama return," Jacob said. "That was a good battle Ash. Not too many have gotten past Hariyama and me. Good luck facing the other trainers," he added.

"Thanks Jacob," Ash said, returning Bayleef. Then he and his friends moved on.

Five minutes later, they confronted a female trainer.

"So you got past Jacob. Now it's my turn to face you. I'm Debbi and I challenge you to a one-on-one Pokemon battle. Donphan go!" the trainer said.

"Donphan, don (Another battle, good)," Donphan said.

Then Phanpy came out of his ball. He wanted to watch.

"You want to watch Phanpy?" Ash asked.

"Phanpy (Yes)," Phanpy said nodding.

"All right," Ash said. 'Because Donphan is Phanpy's evolved form, maybe Phanpy can learn some things from watching this battle,' he secretly added.

"I remember when you were curious like that when you were a Phanpy Donphan," Debbie said.

"Don (Yeah)," Donphan said.

"I have faith in you Bulbasaur," Ash then said, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Bulba (I'll do my best)," Bulbasaur said.

"A Bulbasaur? This should be easy. Let's make this quick Donphan. Use Rollout," Debbie said.

Donphan curled in on itself and rolled towards Bulbasaur.

"Use Vine Whip to avoid it," Ash said.

"Bulba (Right)," Bulbasaur said, using his vines to spring over the rolling Donphan.

Donphan turned and came back towards Bulbasaur. Like the first time, Bulbasaur sprung over Donphan.

"Donphan, use Earthquake!" Debbie said.

Donphan repeatedly pounded the ground, sending seismic waves racing through the ground. Bulbasaur came donw only to get caught up in the attack. Bulbasaur was knocked for a loop. Soon, the seismic waves subsided, allowing Bulbasaur to get up.

"You all right Bulbasaur?" Ash asked.

"Bulba (Yeah)," Bulbasaur responded. He was still a little groggy and shook his head to clear it.

"Use Rollout while its disoriented," Debbie said.

Donphan rolled towards Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur was still groggy from the Earthquake attack and was struck directly. Bulbasaur was knocked off his feet. He landed on the ground hard but was able to stagger to his feet.

"We've got it now Donphan. One more Rollout should finish it off," Debbie said.

"Don (Right)," Donphan said before rolling towards Bulbasaur.

"Jump with Vine Whip," Ash said.

Bulbasaur was able to do so.

"Use Earthquake again," Debbie said.

"Quick Bulbasaur! Wrap Donphan in your Vine Whip!" Ash said.

Bulbasaur lashed his vines at Donphan. Donphan couldn't give off the Earthquake. Bulbasaur came down. But there was one thing that Donphan had going for it, size.

"Size matters in this case. Pull Bulbasaur to you Donphan," Debbie said.

Donphan began stepping back. Bulbasaur tried to keep still but size was definitely a factor here. He was at Donphan's mercy now. To make sure that Bulbasaur couldn't get away, Donphan had used Rollout to a certain extent. Bulbasaur appeared to be helpless at this point.

"Try a Razor Leaf," Ash said.

Bulbasaur fired off a barrage of leaves at Donphan.

"Reverse Rollout!" Debbie said.

Donphan curled up on itself before rolling away to avoid the Razor Leaf, freeing Bulbasaur as well. Bulbasaur retracted his vines.

"That was a close one," Max said.

"Yeah," Brock agreed.

"Use Dig Donphan!" Debbie said.

Donphan dug a hole into the ground.

"Charge up for a Solarbeam!" Ash said.

Bulbasaur began charging up (A/N: I know that Pokemon who use Solarbeam in the series are out in the sun, but I think that it shouldn't matter if the Pokemon is out in the sun or inside someplace. So I decided to to this from a Pokemon game for Game Boy standard in which it doesn't matter whether a Pokemon is outside or inside). Donphan surfaced right under Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur went flying into the air. While in the air, he was able to point his bulb towards Donphan. He then fired away.

"Quick, use Dig to escape!" Debbie said.

But the attack came too fast for Donphan to react. The Solarbeam made a direct hit.

"Donphan (That hurts)!" Donphan cried, fainting soon after.

Bulbasaur then came down on his feet.

"That was a great recover..." Ash started to say when he saw the bulb on Bulbasaur's back glowing.

"Look at that," May said in awe.

"Bulbasaur is getting ready to evolve," Brock said.

Soon, Bulbasaur's entire body glowed. He then began to grow. The bulb on his back opened up to reveal a closed up flower. Then the glow died down to reveal Ivysaur.

"Ivysaur saur (That was a tough battle)," Ivysaur said.

"Wow. You decided to evolve," Ash said. 

"Ivy (Yeah)," Ivysaur said.

"Watching a Pokemon evolve never gets old," Debbie said smiling. She had returned her Donphan several seconds after it fainted.

"No it doesn't," Max agreed.

"Well, good luck Ash," Debbie said.

"Thanks Debbie," Ash said before returning Ivysaur and Phanpy. Then he and his friends moved on.

Ten minutes later, another trainer spotted them. He walked over to them. "You're a pretty impressive trainer Ash," he said.

"Thanks," Ash said.

"My name is Rob. Most of the Pokemon I train with are unevolved. But they are very strong. I have proven to a lot of trainers that big things can come in small packages," the trainer said. "Let's make this a doubles match," he added.

"That's fine with me," Ash said.

"Bellsprout, Nosepass, go!" Rob said, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Cyndaquil, Totodile, I choose you!" Ash said, lighting up his back.

"Cyndaquil (I'm ready)," Cyndaquil said, lighting up his back.

"Toto (Let's play)," Totodile added, doing a back flip.

Wanting to see what Cyndaquil could do, Charizard came out of his Poke Ball to watch the battle.

"It looks like Charizard wants to watch the battle," Ash said.

"I don't have any problem with that. Use Rock Tomb Nosepass. Bellsprout, use Razor Leaf," Rob said.

"Cyndaquil, burn the leaves with your Flamethrower but be wary of the falling boulders. That last part goes for you too Totodile," Ash said.

"Cynda (Right)," Cyndaquil said before using Flamethrower to burn the leaves to a crisp. He dodged the falling boulders while burning the leaves.

Totodile simply danced out of the falling boulders' path, making the Rock Tomb attack look like a game of dodge the boulder.

"Now use Water Gun," Ash said.

Totodile fired a Water Gun at Nosepass.

"Use Harden," Rob said.

Nosepass hardened itself. The Water Gun made contact, doing little damage to the hardened Nosepass.

"Now use Thunderbolt," Rob said.

Nosepass's nose glowed yellow. It then fired a Thunderbolt at Totodile. Totodile was barely able to dodge the Thunderbolt, only to be knocked for a loop in Bellsprout's Vine Whip. Totodile slowly got back up.

"Use Rockslide on Cyndaquil Nosepass. Bellsprout, use Razor Leaf on Totodile," Rob said.

Nosepass/Bellsprout (Okay)," Nosepass and Bellsprout said before unleashing the said attack.

"Use Agility Cyndaquil," Ash said.

Cyndaquil complied but it wasn't much help. He was just barely able to dodge all the rocks coming at him. Meanwhile, Totodile was trying his hardest to evade the leaves coming at him. Some of them managed to strike him. He finally stopped and used Water Gun in hopes of diverting the leaves.

The strategy worked as the Water Gun powered through the leaves. Bellsprout was soon struck. It was knocked to the ground but quickly got back up. Then Totodile used Water Gun on Nosepass. Nosepass briefly stopped its attack to harden itself before continuing the attack on Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil was now starting to retire.

"It's getting tired now Nosepass. Use Rock Tomb to finish it off," Rob said.

Nosepass stopped the Rockslide attack and caused a small cave in again. Cyndaquil was too tired to dodge the attack.  
"Cyndaquil!" Ash cried in concern.

"Cyndaquil quil (I won't give up)," Cyndaquil said determinedly. He found the strength to get out of the boulders' path. Then he started to glow.

"Cyndaquil," Ash said in awe.

"It's evolving," Max said in awe.

('It looks like things are about to take an interesting turn') Charizard thought smiling.

The little fire mouse then began to grow a little. His body then elongated a little. Soon, the glow died down to reveal a Quilava.

"Quilava (It's not over)!" Quilava said before lighting the fires on his head and behind. Then he revealed a surprise. He charged towards Bellsprout. He then curled up on himself and began rolling towards Bellsprout.

But this was not a Rollout attack. This was a Flame Wheel attack. The attack hit home, sending Bellsprout flying.

"Whoa! What attack was that?" Ash said.

"That was a Flame Wheel," Brock responded.

Bellsprout was able to get back up.

"Use Solarbeam on Totodile Bellsprout," Rob said.

"Use Scratch Totodile," Ash said.

Totodile complied and scratched Bellsprout. Bellsprout staggered back but was able to fire off the Solarbeam. Totodile was too close to Bellsprout when the attack was fired and couldn't get completely out of the way. A portion of the attack hit him, sending him flying. He landed hard on the ground. It looked like he was down for the count.

"It looks like Totodile is out," Max said in worry.

But Totodile was not out yet. He staggered back up to his feet.

"Use Razor Leaf Bellsprout!" Rob said.

Bellsprout fired off a barrage of leaves. Totodile staggered out of the way.

"Totodile is tougher than he looks," May said.

"Yeah, but he can't last much longer," Brock said.

"We have Totodile where we want it Bellsprout. Use..." Rob started to say when he saw Totodile glowing.

"Totodile is evolving too," Ash said in awe.

(Whoa, two evolutions in one battle! This is getting good) Charizard said.

"Pikachu (You said it)," Pikachu said in awe.

Soon, the glow died down to reveal a fiercer looking Pokemon.

"Croconaw croc (This fight is far from over)!" Croconaw said.

"Water Gun on Nosepass Croconaw!" Ash said.

Croconaw fired the Water Gun.

"Harden!" Rob said.

Nosepass used Harden. This time though, the Harden was no help. Nosepass cried in pain as the now more powerful Water Gun struck it dead center.

"One more time Croconaw," Ash said.

Croconaw complied. Now that Harden would not help any longer, Nosepass succumbed to the Water Gun's pressure. It soon fainted.

"Looks like the tables have turned in Ash's favor now," May said.

"Yeah," Brock said.

"Quilava, use Ember!" Ash said.

Quilava complied. Bellsprout tried to avoid the small seed-like flames. It couldn't completely dodge though and ended up getting burned. Quilava then finished the job with Flamethrower. Bellsprout was down for the count.

"Nice job guys," Ash said.

Croconaw danced around in celebration. Apparently, he had not lost his happy-go-lucky attitude.

"That was a battle for my record book Ash. Never before have I seen two Pokemon evolve during a battle," Rob said.

"Thanks Rob. You almost had us though," Ash said.

"Lava (Yeah)," Quilava said.

"Croconaw (Tell me about it)," Croconaw added.

(Nice battling you two) Charizard said.

"Lava (Thanks)," Quilava said. ('This has turned into the best moment of my life. I really impressed my idol') he secretly added.

Ash returned Quilava and Croconaw. Then he and his friends moved on. Half an hour later, they decided to rest. An hour later, they continued on once more. Five minutes later, they confronted two trainers.

"You're halfway down Victory Road. Congratulations on that," the female trainer said.

"You're a very impressive trainer," the male trainer said.

"Now we battle. This will be a four-on-four battle," both trainers said.

"That's fine with me," Ash said.

"I'm Christie," the female trainer said.

"And I'm Tom," the male trainer said.

"And now it's battle start," both trainers said.

"Pelipper, Golem, go!" Christie said.

"Let's win this one Sealeo, Starmie!" Tom said.

"Pikachu, Croconaw, Bayleef, Ivysaur, you're up!" Ash said, releasing the latter three Pokemon.

Pikachu then took his position next to them. "Pika (Let's do this)," Pikachu said.

"Ivy (Yeah)," Ivysaur agreed.

"Golem, use Rollout on Pikachu. Pelipper, use Wing Attack on Ivysaur," Christie said.

"Sealeo, Ice Beam on Bayleef. Starmie, Swift on Croconaw," Tom said.

Golem rolled towards Pikachu.

"Dodge with your Agility Pikachu," Ash said.

Pikachu used Agility to easily get out of Golem's path. Golem turned and came at Pikachu again. But Pikachu was able to swiftly move.

"Gather some momentum then use Iron Tail!" Ash said.

Pikachu used his agility to gather momentum. On Golem's next pass, Pikachu jumped over and used Iron Tail as he came down. The gathered momentum was enough to force Golem out of its rollout. Golem had also seen stars for several moments before getting back up.

"Ivysaur, keep Pelipper at bay with your Razor Leaf. croconaw, counter the Swift with your Water Gun. Bayleef, jump over the beam before it reaches you," Ash said.

Ivysaur unleashed dozens upon dozens of leaves. Pelipper flew up to avoid the attack, also losing its focus to perform the Wing Attack. Croconaw and Starmie fired off their attacks at the same time. Although the Water Gun was able to negate some of the Swift, Croconaw was struck with the portion of the Swift that made it past the Water Gun. Bayleef had just jumped over the Ice Beam Sealeo fired. Pelipper had managed to get a good hit in on Ivysaur. Ivysaur was knocked down but managed to get back up.

"Pika (You okay)?" Pikachu asked.

"Ivy. Ivysaur ivy (Yeah. It's going to take more than that)," Ivysaur responded.

"Ivysaur, take out Starmie with Solarbeam!" Ash said.

('Maybe I can learn how to do it') Bayleef thought, watching intently.

"Starmie, use Psychic to render Ivysaur helpless," Tom said.

Starmie complied and lifted Ivysaur into the air.

"Now slam it to the ground!" Tom said.

Starmie did so. Ivysaur staggered back up.

"One more time Starmie," Tom said.

Starmie lifted Ivysaur with Psychic once more.

"Ice Ball on Bayleef Sealeo," Tom then said.  
"Pelipper, Hydro Pump on Pikachu. Golem, Rock Throw on Croconaw," Christie added.

Bayleef managed to dodge the small ball of ice. She then closed her eyes in concentration. The others saw solar energy beginning to gather around the leaves on her neck.

"Quick Sealeo, use Ice Ball again!" Tom said.

Sealeo fired another Ice Ball. This time, the ball was a bit bigger.

Bayleef dodged the attack again. Then she was ready to fire the Solarbeam. "Bay (Take this)!" she said, firing the attack.

The beam was a wide one. Starmie paused for a split second. That split seconds was all that was needed for the Solarbeam to directly strike it. Starmie cried in pain and released Ivysaur. Unfortunately, Ivysaur was still in the air. But Bayleef was able to catch him.

"Saur (Thanks)," Ivysaur said.

"Bay (You're welcome)," Bayleef said.

Starmie was able to stagger back up. The others could see that it was getting tired.

"Use Swift again starmie," Tom said.

Starmie fired off the attack again. Croconaw charged through the attack. He was soon right in front of Starmie.

"Finish if off with Bite Croconaw," Ash said.

Croconaw bit down on Starmie. Starmie cried in pain. The Bite attack did its job, fainting Starmie.

"Starmie return!" Tom said.

Golem barely avoided being hit by the Solarbeam itself. It then used Rock Throw. Ivysaur and Bayleef got in front of Croconaw and used their Vine Whips to keep the rocks away.

"Nice defense you two," Ash said.

Pikachu dodged the Hydro Pump.

"Use Thunderbolt Pikachu!" Ash said.

Pikachu fired off the Thunderbolt. Pelipper was hit and fell to the ground. It was able to get back up and take flight again.

"Use Supersonic!" Christie said.

"Dodge the Supersonic!" Ash countered.

Pelipper sent sonic waves towards Pikachu. Pikachu dodged the waves, not wanting to become confused. Then Pikachu retaliated with another Thunderbolt. Pelipper was struck again and fell to the ground once again. This time, it had difficulty getting back up. It was barely able to get up and fly into the air.

One more attack should do Pelipper in," Max said.

"Yeah. It's barely hanging on," Brock added.

"Sealeo, use Ice Ball again!" Tom said.

Sealeo fired a bigger ball of ice, striking Bayleef directly.

"Bay bay (That's cold)," Bayleef said upon feeling partly frozen.

"One more Ice Ball Sealeo," Tom said.

Sealeo fired an Ice Beam that was much bigger now. Bayleef was frozen in place and had no way of dodging this one. Ivysaur charged for a Solarbeam. He saw that the ball was coming a lot slower now and hoped to fully charge in time. Several minutes later, he was ready.

"Ivysaur (This ball is melted)!" Ivysaur said before firing the Solarbeam.

The Solarbeam completely melted the Ice Ball. Not only that, but since Ivysaur was close to Bayleef, the heat from the Solarbeam was also enough to melt the ice trapping her. The attack didn't stop with melting the Ice Ball though. It kept going and made impact with Sealeo. A portion of the attack also hit Pelipper. Pelipper fell hard to the ground again but didn't get back up. Although a portion of the Solarbeam hit, it was enough to faint Pelipper.

"You did the best you could Pelipper," Christie said upon returning it.

Sealeo was able to get back up after being hit. The Solarbeam had lost intensity when melting the large Ice Ball.

"Sealeo (I can still fight)," Sealeo said.

"Use Aurora Beam," Tom said.

Sealeo fired the beam at Ivysaur. Ivysaur sprung over it with his Vine Whip.

"Golem, use Rollout again!" Christie said.

"Golem (All right)," Golem said before rolling towards Pikachu again.

Pikachu used Agility again to keep out of Golem's way. But keeping out of Golem's way was starting to tire Pikachu out. Golem had eventually struck Pikachu directly. Pikachu went flying, but Ivysaur caught him before he hit the ground.

"Pikachu pika pi (Did someone get the license number of that truck)?" Pikachu asked, clearly disoriented.  
Golem came at the group with another Rollout. Croconaw tried to stop it with Water Gun. But Golem kept coming. Bayleef and Ivysaur lashed out with their vines.

"Lem (Ouch)!" Golem cried in pain. It was sent flying backwards about ten feet. It staggered back to its feet. It was panting a little now.

"Let's end this battle. Use Blizzard on Bayleef and Ivysaur Sealeo," Tom said.

"Use Earthquake Golem!" Christie said.

Golem jumped up and came down hard. The ground started to shake. Pikachu, Bayleef and Ivysaur were able to jump over the attack. But Croconaw was struck directly.

"Croconaw (I've had enough)," Croconaw said before fainting.

Pikachu, Bayleef and Ivysaur came back down. They saw Croconaw down for the count. Ash then returned Croconaw. But Sealeo was also reeling from the Earthquake attack.

"You were great Croconaw," Ash said. "Pikachu, use Thunder. Bayleef, Ivysaur, combine your Solarbeam attacks," he added.

"Earthquake affects all Pokemon expect the one who uses it. Your Golem ended up doing damage to Sealeo as well," Tom said.

"Whoops. Sorry about that," Christie said blushing in embarrassment.

Pikachu rain towards Sealeo. Sealeo was too disoriented after the Earthquake attack to do anything. Pikachu charged up and struck Sealeo directly.

"Sealeo (That really stings)!" Sealeo cred in pain.

The attack soon fizzled out. Sealeo was down for the count.

"Sealeo is out," Brock said.

Ivysaur and Bayleef had completely charged and fired their Solarbeam attacks at Golem. The attacks combined into one large beam. Golem had no way to get out of the way in time and was struck directly. Golem cried out in pain and fainted soon afterwards.

"Ivy...ivy...saur (That...was...tough)," Ivysaur said panting.

"Bay...bay...bay (Tell...me...about...it)," Bayleef said. "Bay (Huh)?" she then asked upon feeling strange.

"Whoa, it looks like today is evolution day for your Pokemon Ash," May said in awe.

"It sure does," Ash said in awe.

The light soon died down revealing the new Pokemon. She had what looked like antennae on her head. A fully bloomed flower was around her neck.

"Mega (I feel great)," Meganium said.

"Wow!" Christie was able to say.

"She said it. Not only did you give us the challenge of our lives, but we also got to witness a Pokemon evolution," Tom said.

"You just might have what it takes to challenge the Elite Four," Christie said.

"Thanks," Ash said before giving his Pokemon Hyper Potions. He returned them. He released Croconaw.

Croconaw was now awake but still weak. Ash gave him a Hyper Potion, helping him feel much better. Then Ash returned Croconaw before he and his friends moved on. They didn't encounter another trainer till about half an hour later.

"You're almost in the clear. But many have failed to beat me. My name is Elise and I challenge you to a three-Pokemon battle," the trainer said.

"I accept your challenge," Ash said.

"Go Gloom!" Elise said, releasing her Pokemon.

"Phanpy, you're up!" Ash said.

"Phanpy, phan (Yay, it's my turn)!" Phanpy said.

"Use Petal Dance!" Elise said.

Gloom released dozens of small pinkish leaves at Phanpy. Phanpy quickly dug to avoid them.

"It looks like Phanpy learned from watching Donphan," Max said.

"Yeah and I bet that that was something Ash hoped for," Brock said.

Phanpy resurfaced under Gloom. Gloom went flying into the air. It came back down an was able to get back up.

"Give off your stench Gloom," Elise said.

Gloom gave off its foul odor.

"Use Rollout. Maybe that can protect your nose," Ash said.

"Phanpy (Okay)," Phanpy said before rolling towards Gloom.

As Ash hoped, Gloom's smell didn't appear to affect a rolling Phanpy. Phanpy struck Gloom directly, sending it flying again. Gloom was able to get back up.

"Use Razor Leaf," Elise said.

Gloom fired dozens of leaves at Phanpy. Phanpy couldn't get out of this attack's path and was struck directly. He went flying and smashed to the ground. He slowly got back up.

"Use Dynamic Punch!" Elise said.

Gloom charged for Phanpy. Before Ash or Phanpy could react, Gloom punched Phanpy very hard. Phanpy went flying once again. He landed harder on the ground. He was barely able to get up this time.

"We've got it now Gloom. Use Solarbeam to finish it off," Elise said.

Gloom charged up for the Solarbeam. Several moments later, it fired away. Phanpy couldn't get out of the way and was struck directly. When the smoke cleared, Phanpy appeared to be out.

"Good work Gloom," Elise said. "Now who will your..." she started to ask when she saw Phanpy glowing.

"It looks like it's not over just yet," Ash said smiling.

The aura died down several minutes later to reveal a larger elephant with armor lining its trunk and spine. The elephant Pokemon then stood back up, looking completely re-energized.

"Donphan don phan don (I'm not throwing in the towel just yet)," Donphan said.

"Donphan, use Rollout!" Ash said.

"Don (Roger)," Donphan said. He curled up on himself and charged for Gloom.

"Gloom, get out of the way!" Elise said.

Gloom managed to avoid Donphan with only a few seconds to spare. But Donphan turned on a dime and came right back at Gloom. Gloom wasn't expecting the return and was struck directly. Gloom was knocked off its feet. But Donphan was not about to let it recover. He jumped up, pounding the ground upon coming down. The Earthquake attack did it. Gloom fainted instantly.

"Nice job Donphan. Watching my battle against Debbie proved to help you," Ash said.

"Donphan (It sure did)," Donphan said.

"Gloom return!" Elise said. "That was really something Ash. But this battle isn't over just yet. Swampert go!" she added, releasing her Pokemon.

"Rollout Donphan!" Ash said.

Donphan rolled towards Swampert.

"Hydro Pump Swampert!" Elise countered.

Swampert fired a huge stream of water. Donphan was forced back from the intense pressure of the Hydro Pump. He was forced up against a wall not too far away. Swampert then stopped the Hydro Pump. Donphan struggled but was able to get up.

"Now finish it off with Ice Beam!" Elise said.

Swampert complied and froze Donphan solid. Donphan was able to break free. But he fainted soon afterwards.

"Donphan return. You did great," Ash said, returning his Pokemon. "Meganium, I choose you!" he added.

"Mega (Ready)," Meganium said.

"Ice Beam again Swampert," Elise said.

"Swampert (All right)," Swampert said before firing off the beam.

Meganium dodged with secons to spare.

"Razor Leaf!" Ash said.

"Dig to avoid it," Elise countered.

Meganium fired off dozens of leaves. Swampert dug underground.

"Concentrate Meganium. Use Body Slam as soon as it surfaces," Ash said.

Meganium closed her eyes in concentration. When she felt Swampert starting to surface underneath her, she used her Vine Whip to jump. Swampert surfaced soon after.

"Swampert (What)?" Swampert asked.

Meganium then came down hard on Swampert. Swampert tried to shake Meganium off, but the issue of weight went in Meganium's favor. The pressure soon got the best of Swampert and it fainted. Meganium then got off.

"Mega (Yeah)!" Meganium said.

"Great job Meganium," Ash said.

"You're very good Ash," Elise said, returning Swampert. "But let's see how you'll fare against my last Pokemon. Go Macargo!" she said, releasing the fiery snail Pokemon.

"Macargo (This Pokemon is toast)," Macargo said.

Megainum was quite nervous upon looking at Macargo.

"Do you want to sit this one out Meganium?" Ash asked upon seeing how nervous she was.

"Mega (Yes)," Meganium responded nodding.

"Well return then," Ash said, returning Meganium. "Let's do this Croconaw!" he added, releasing Croconaw.

Croconaw was ready to do battle. "Croco (Let's)," he said.

"use Rock Throw Macargo!" Elise said.

Macargo hurled a barrage of rocks at Croconaw. Croconaw opened his mouth and released a powerful stream of water. This was not a Water Gun attack though. The attack easily powered through the rocks and straight for Macargo.

"Whoa. Croconaw learned how to do Hydro Pump," May said.

Macargo heated itself up. When the Hydro Pump made impact, some of it evaporated into steam. Macargo grunted in pain, as some of the Hydro Pump was able to make contact with it.

"Macargo use Overheat!" Elise said.

Macargo's body glowed an eerie red. Seconds later, it fired the super hot attack.

"Cool that off with Hydro Pump," Ash countered.

Croconaw fired another Hydro Pump. This time, Macargo won out. The Overheat powered through the Hydro Pump. Croconaw was struck directly. Not only that, but he was also burned. The battle looked back in Macargo's favor now.

"It's burned Macargo. Let's wear it down more with Rockslide!" Elise said.

Macargo caused some of the rocky wall to slide towards Croconaw. Croconaw was able to move out of the way. But the burn was starting to take its toll on him. He felt his strength sapping away. He knew that he wouldn't be able to continue much longer. Ash also knew that Croconaw couldn't continue much longer.

"We need to end this battle. Use Hydro Pump," Ash said.  
"Use Overheat again Macargo," Elise said.

Croconaw and Macargo fired their attacks. This time, Croconaw won out. Although weakened from the burn he sustained, Croconaw held out against the weakened Overheat attack. The Hydro Pump drove straight into Macargo. Macargo cried in pain upon feeling the powerful water attack impact it. Because Macargo was both a fire and rock-type Pokemon, the watery attack did quadruple damage. Macargo soon fainted.

"Nice work Croconaw," Ash said.

"Croc (Thanks)," Croconaw said weakly.

"Here Ash, give this to Croconaw," Brock said, handing a small bottle to Ash.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"It's a Full Heal. I found it in between some rocks ten minutes ago," Brock responded.

Ash didn't say anything more. He gave the Full Heal to Croconaw. Soon, Croconaw was healed of his burn.

"Croconaw (That's much better)," Croconaw said.

Then Ash gave Croconaw a Hyper Potion. Croconaw felt his strength returning and then some. He felt so much stronger that he began to glow. Ash and the others watched in awe as Croconaw began to evolve. First, Croconaw started growing. Soon, the aura died down to reveal a large alligator that resembled its unevolved form of Totodile to a certain extent. But this Pokemon was much fiercer looking.

"Gator (How do I look)?" Feraligatr asked.

"Whoa! What an awesome turn of events," Elise said.

"I know. This was a pretty tough battle. You almost had us. I can see why not too many trainers have been able to get past you," Ash said.

"Gator (Yeah)," Feraligatr agreed.

"Thanks. I believe you have what it takes to challenge the Elite Four. Good Luck," Elise said.

"Thanks," Ash said before returning Feraligatr and moving on.

About ten minutes later, he and his friends confronted another trainer.

"You're pretty good to have made it this far," the trainer said.

"Thank you," Ash said.

"Now it's my turn to face you. I'm Samantha and this will be a one-on-one battle. I choose you Medicham," the trainer said.

"Medicham (Let's battle)!" Medicham said.

"Quilava go!" Ash said, releasing his fiery Pokemon.

"Quilava (Let's get down)," Quilava said.

"Medicham, Thunderpunch!" Samantha said.

Medicham came at Quilava, its fist crackling with electrical energy.

"Use Flame Wheel to ward it off," Ash said.

Quilava curled in on himself and rolled towards Medicham. Medicham quickly teleported out of the way with only seconds to spare.

"Dynamic Punch!" Samantha said.

Medicham charged for Quilava. Quilava had uncurled himself, giving Medicham the opportunity to strike. Medicham gave Quilava a huge blow to the side of his body. Quilava was knocked skyward. He came down hard but was able to get up.

"Now Medicham, use Confusion!" Samantha said.

"Medicham (This battle is over)," Medicham said, lifting Quilava into the air and slamming him back down.

Quilava staggered back to his feet.

"Psybeam Medicham!" Samantha said.

Medicham fired off the attack.

"Quilava, try to avoid it with Agility," Ash said.

Quilava was able to dodge the attack.

"Now use Flamethrower," Ash said.

Quilava complied and shot out a stream of fire towards Medicham.

"Send the Flamethrower right back at it with Confusion," Samantha said.

Medicham did so. Quilava wasn't affected too much fortunately.

"Qui...lava (I'm getting...worn out)," Quilava said panting.

"Quilava looks just about done it Medicham. Use Dynamic Punch again!" Samantha said.

Medicham came at Quilava and punched him hard. Quilava was knocked off his feet again. Quilava used his remaining strength to get back up.

"Qui...lava qui...lava (I...won't...quit...yet)," Quilava said. He knew that he would be down for the count if Medicham got another hit on him.

"One more hit will do it Medicham. Use Focus Punch!" Samantha said.

Medicham used Focus Energy first. Then Medicham came at Quilava, fist glowing. Quilava was able to rear up and light the fire on its head just as Medicham would've dealt him the final blow. Medicham jumped back upon feeling the fire make contact with its fist.

"Medicham (It burns)!" Medicham cried in pain.

"That was good thinking Quilava. Now let's show them that we can win this battle," Ash said encouragingly.

Quilava reached deep down into himself. His eyes snapped open upon finding a hidden strength that he didn't know he had. He then began to glow red. But this wasn't the precursor to an Overheat attack.

"Quilava?" Ash asked in awe.

"What is that?" May asked.

"It's Blaze," Brock responded.

"What's Blaze?" Max asked.

"It's a special ability that Cyndaquil and Quilava have that increases the power of their fire attacks when they become exhausted in battle," Brock responded.

But Quilava wasn't finished with just showing off his special ability. In tapping into his hidden strength, he soon began to glow in a white aura as well.

"Now Quilava is evolving too," Ash said in awe.

Quilava began to grow. When the aura died down, a Pokemon that stood at a little over 5'6" was in Quilava's place. The Pokemon's neck then lit up. The effects of Blaze had worn off now that he was re-energized.

"Typhlosion typh (Things just heated up)!" Typhlosion said.

"Awesome," Ash said.

Typhlosion looked back and gave Ash a thumbs' up before facing Medicham again.

"Let's get rocking Typhlosion. Use Flame Wheel," Ash said.

Typhlosion charged for Medicham. This time, Medicham had just about no time to react because Typhlosion came at it much faster. Medicham cried in pain upon feeling the flames of the Flame Wheel.

"Use Psychic Medicham!" Samantha said.

Medicham lifted Typhlosion with its psychic power.

"Typhlosion, try to face Medicham," Ash said.

Typhlosion struggled hard, but he was able to face Medicham.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Ash said.

Typhlosion fired the stream of fire at Medicham. Medicham panicked and quickly used Teleport. Typhlosion fell to the ground but was able to land on all fours.

"We need to finish this now Medicham. Use Meditate and follow up with Dynamic Punch," Samantha said.

Medicham began to meditate. Typhlosion had an idea. He charged for Medicham.

"What's Typhlosion doing?" Max asked.

"He has an idea. Let's see what he does," Ash responded.

Typhlosion's fist glowed orange. Before Medicham came out of meditation, Typhlosion gave it a wallop of a punch.

"Medicham (Aaaahhhh)!" Medicham cried upon feeling the Firepunch attack. It fainted upon slamming hard on the ground.

"Wow! It fainted upon slamming hard on the ground.

"Wow! Typhlosion learned Firepunch completely on his own!" May said.

"Medicham, I'm proud of you. You did your very best," Samantha said, returning her fainted Pokemon. Then she looked at Ash and Typhlosion. "That was the best battle I have ever fought besides the Elite Four. I know that you can give them a run for their money," she added.

"Thanks Samantha," Ash said before giving Typhlosion a Hyper Potion and returning it. Then he and his friends moved on.

About fifteen minutes later, they saw the exit. They were just about to exit.

"Wait! You still have one more battle," a voice said.

Ash and friends turned to see a young boy walking towards them.

"I'm Wally and I want to battle you. I have heard a lot about you Ash and hoped to be able to battle you one day. Now I'll get my chance," the boy said.

"All right. Let's do it. How many Pokemon?" Ash said.

"Let's make it two-on-two," Wally said.

"Fine by me. You choose first," Ash said.

"All right. Go Delcatty!" Wally said, releasing his Pokemon.

"Ivysaur go!" Ash said.

"Ivy (Ready)," Ivysaur said.

"Use Assist Delcatty!" Wally said.

Delcatty's Assist turned out to be an Ember attack.

"Dodge it Ivysaur!" Ash said.

Ivysaur quickly used his vines to spring over the attack.

"Now use Razor Leaf!" Ash said.

Ivysaur released his leaves towards Delcatty.

Use Assist again. Hopefully, the result will be something that can blow those leaves away," Wally said.

Delcatty used Assist. But the result was the worst thing that could've possibly happened. Delcatty was using Splash. Needless to say, the razor-sharp leaves had very little difficulty striking their target. Delcatty fell to the ground but got back up.

"Now we know what we're up against Delcatty. Use Blizzard!" Wally said.

Delcatty complied and sent a fierce wind of ice and snow towards Ivysaur. Ivysaur laid flat on the ground. The icy attack missed him by only several inches.

"That was close Ivysaur," Ash said.

"Ivysaur (Tell me about it)," Ivysaur said before getting back up.

"Use Doubleslap!" Wally said.

Delcatty charged towards Ivysaur.

"Hit it back with Vine Whip!" Ash said.

Ivysaur lashed out his vines and knocked Delcatty back.

"Try Assist again," Wally said.

This time, the Assist resulted in a very cold attack that could knock Ivysaur out upon impact.

"Ash, it's a Sheer Cold attack. Ivysaur is as good as fainted if the attack makes impact," Brock warned.

"Ivysaur, don't let that attack hit you!" Ash said.

Ivysaur maneuvered out of the Sheer Cold's path with only seconds to spare. "Ivysaur, saur ivy (Whoa, what an attack)," he said.

"Follow up with Blizzard," Wally said.

Delcatty used Blizzard. This time, Ivysaur had no chance of dodging. He was knocked off his feet. Some of his body had actually become frozen. But slamming to the ground broke the ice that had formed. Ivysaur staggered back up.

"Ivysaur (That wasn't fun)," Ivysaur said.

"You all right Ivysaur?" Ash said.

"Ivy (Yes)," Ivysaurs responded.

"Assist again," Wally said.

Delcatty complied. This time, the Assist resulted in Delcatty glowing an eerie red. It soon fired an Overheat attack. The attack came fast and struck Ivysaur quicker than he or Ash could react.

"Ivy, ivy, ivy (Hot, hot, hot)!" Ivysaur cried in pain upon feeling the fire. He was knocked off his feet again. He very slowly got back up. "Ivysaur (I'm not out yet)," he added. He saw Delcatty right in front of him now.

"Use Doubleslap," Wally said.

Delcatty began to slap Ivysaur senseless.

"Use Razor Leaf Ivysaur. Try to get it away from you," Ash said.

But Ivysaur couldn't concentrate due to Delcatty's merciless assault. Ivysaur ended up being knocked off his feet again. Thinking that Ivysaur was out, Delcatty went over next to its trainer again.

"Nice work Delcatty," Wally said.

"It's not over yet," Ash said.

"And why's..." Wally started to ask when he saw Ivysaur glowing. How is this possible?" he asked in disbelief.

"When a battle is on the line, anything can be possible," Ash responded.

Ivysaur then began to grow. The flower on his back started opening up. Soon, the glow died down to reveal a Venosaur.

"Venosaur (The battle ends now)," Venosaur said.

"Charge up for a Solarbeam Venosaur," Ash said.

"Venosaur (I'm on it)," Venosaur said, gathering energy.

"Blizzard Delcatty!" Wally said.

Delcatty fired the attack. but this time the result was different. The solar energy Venosaur gathered actually protected him from Delcatty's attack.

"Use Assist!" Wally said, starting to panic now.

Delcatty complied. The result was a Gust attack, but it wasn't strong enough to blow Venosaur away. Soon, Venosaur was ready to fire.

"Fire away!" Ash said.

"Veno (Take this)!" Venosaur said, firing the beam from the large flower on his back.

The beam rocketed towards Delcatty, making impact seconds afterward. When the smoke cloud it generated cleared, Delcatty was down and out.

"You did great Delcatty," Wally said, returning the fainted Pokemon. You're pretty good Ash. But my next Pokemon is also my strongest. Let's win this Gardevoir!" he added, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Gardevoir (Let's finish this)!" Gardevoir said.

"It's beautiful," May said upon seeing the psychic Pokemon.

"It looks very strong as well," Max added.

"Vine Whip Venosaur!" Ash said.

Venosaur lashed out with eight vines.

"Psychic!" Wally countered.

Gardevoir used the attack to redirect the vines right back at Venosaur. Venosaur was knocked off his feet upon feeling the psychic-induced recoil.

"Use Psychic again!" Wally said.

Gardevoir used its powers to lift Venosaur high into the air. Then it slammed Venosaur to the ground. It repeated the action three more times for good measure. This time, Venosaur was down for the count.

"You did great Venosaur," Ash said, returning his fallen Pokemon. "Let's go Feraligatr," he added, releasing the said Pokemon.

"Gator (All right)," Feraligatr said.

"Psybeam Gardevoir!" Wally said.

Gardevoir complied.

"Dodge that attack," Ash said.

Feraligatr danced out of the attack's path. But now, he kind of shook the ground a little. Gardevoir was haivng a little difficulty standing up. Ash took note of this.

'Feraligatr is actually close to performing an Earthquake attack,' Ash thought.

"Stop it with Psychic," Wally said.

"Gard (Okay)," Gardevoir said. It used its powers to stop Feraligatr from dancing around. But it didn't use enough power to completely immobilize him, which would prove to be a huge mistake.

"Hydro Pump Feraligatr!" Ash said, seeing Feraligatr twitch every several seconds.

Feraligatr inhaled deeply and was able to give off the attack. The attack came at Gardevoir pretty fast. So fast in fact that it couldn't react in time and as struck directly. Soon, Feraligatr no longer felt the Psychic attack. Gardevoir staggered back to its feet.

"Shadow Ball Gardevoir," Wally said.

Gardevoir launched a Shadow Ball at Feraligatr.

"Try to send it right back," Ash said.

Feraligatr swung his large tail and hit the Shadow Ball like it was a baseball. Wally and Gardevoir stood in shock at what Feraligatr did. Gardevoir was so shocked that it didn't seem to realize that it had a Shadow Ball coming right at it. The reflected attack hit home causing Gardevoir to cry in pain.

"That was a great move," Max said.

"Yeah. Although a psychic Pokemon can perform Ghost-type moves, it's also weak to them," Brock said.

"You can do it Gardevoir. Use Psywave," Wally said.

Gardevoir fired a wave of psychic energy towards Feraligatr.

"Try to get as close to Gardevoir as possible while dodging the Psywave," Ash said.

Feraligatr nodded and got close to the ground. He then crawled his way past the Psywave attack. He was looking up at it the entire time so he'd know when to get up. He had gotten up right in front of Gardevoir. Gardevoir screamed in surprise.

"Now Feraligatr. Use Crunch!" Ash said.

Feraligatr bit down very hard on Gardevoir's shoulder. Gardevoir cried out in pain.

"Gardevoir, try to get away!" Wally said in panic.

But Feraligatr's grip was solid as stone. Gardevoir couldn't get away. Soon, Feraligatr let go. Gardevoir had fainted. Feraligatr then danced around in celebration. In dancing, he had jumped up and pounded the ground hard, knocking everyone off his/her feet. He blushed in embarrassment immediately afterwards.

"Gator (Sorry)," Feraligatr said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"That's okay Feraligatr. You actually just learned the Earthquake attack," Ash said as he and the others got up.

"Gardevoir, you did your best," Wally said, returning Gardevoir. Then he faced Ash. "I see why everyone has said how great a trainer you are. You're very good," he added smiling.

"Thanks Wally," Ash said.

"Well good luck facing the Elite Four. I hope you come out victorious," Wally then said.

"Thanks," Ash said before returning Feraligatr. Then he and his friends moved on and were sono out of Victory Road.

"Well Ash, here we are," May said.

Yeah. Let's go to the Pokemon Center," Ash said.

The others nodded and headed to the Pokemon Center. Ash had his Pokemon healed and revitalized.

"So are you going to try your skills against the Elite Four today?" Nurse Joy asked.

"No, not today. Victory Road was quite a challenge and I want to rest up," Ash responded.

"I understand. As for your friends, they'll have to stay here. Only trainers who have collected all eight badges can enter," Nurse Joy said.

"We understand Nurse Joy," Max said as the others nodded.

Unknown to everyone, Latias was also inside the Pokemon Center. She had followed Ash and friends down Victory Road and saw all the battles and Pokemon evolutions. ('Ash is really good. Maybe he can defeat the Eltie Four. I really hope he does') she thought.

And that's another wrap. This is the longest chapter that I've ever written so far. I said that this would be very beneficial for Ash's Pokemon and now you've seen just how beneficial it was. Preview for Chapter 10: Heart of A Champion: The biggest test of Ash's training skills has arrived. The only thing standing between Ash and the title of Pokemon Leauge Champion is the Elite Four. Will he pass the test with flying colors or flunk miserably? Stay tuned to find out.


End file.
